#pandemic fitness

[fluffypotatey]

okay so:

the year is 2021. the month is june. the new season of hermitcraft, season 8, has just started, and everything is great! the hermits are all messing around, having fun, building insane things within the first week of the server being active, and generally having a good time. everyone's collected themselves into little factions, pranking each other, and it's all the fun, lighthearted, mostly-vanilla content hermitcraft is known for.

and then the split between minecraft versions 1.18 and 1.19 is announced. the delay of new terrain, and especially of new mobs like the warden, considerably disrupt several of the hermits' plans. but it's fine, they'll figure something out, they're professionals, and it mostly goes unnoticed.

about two weeks later, on november 9th, grian turns to mumbo jumbo in one of his episodes, and asks the famous question that would seal hermitcraft season 8's fate:

"mumbo, is the moon... big?"

suddenly, the fans panic. they search back through videos and streams, and realize that the moon had been abnormally large and stuck in a full-moon phase since october 30th. the Moon Big event has begun.

this is where the roleplay really starts. once the moon's size has been brought up, the hermits start a weird combination of scrambling to figure out why the moon's growing, and how to stop it- but also of ignoring it, hoping it won't be a problem, hoping someone else will deal with it. the moon keeps getting bigger, more hermits start realizing it's going on, and a creeping sense of dread starts to grow. but it's fine. it's fine, right? they do little plotlines like this all the time. they'll figure something out, the moon will go back to normal, and we'll laugh about it when this is all over. it's fine.

and then, blocks start flying away. just floating up out of the ground, and falling right back down! like for a moment, a square meter chunk of dirt has decided it's a ballerina and leaped out of the ground! but it's fine, right? the blocks are coming back. no lasting harm is done. they're going to fix it all... right?

the moon gets bigger. it's growing every day- local hermit weirdguy joe hills measures it every stream. the blocks start flying higher. gravity starts getting... weird, with players getting the slow falling effect at random, and being lifted off of the earth themselves. the players form cults and rituals and whatnot to try and appease the moon, convince it to leave them alone, making plans to escape. nothing works. things keep getting worse, and the moon keeps getting bigger. but it'll be fine. these storylines never leave lasting harm, or at least they never have before. they'll be fine.

and then the blocks stop coming back, just floating into the sky forever. the players have the slow falling effect more than they don't now. the moon is now so big it's visible even during the day, and fills the entire sky at night. they start planning their escapes in earnest, and say their goodbyes. some hermits jump into a void hole in the overworld (it was the centerpiece of their village). some flee to the End, some to the nether, some just fly with elytras and hope they can get far enough away in time. one brave hermit, tango, flies himself to the moon in a futile attempt to blow the whole thing up before it can crash.

but in the end, the moon crashes into the server, and everything they'd built was destroyed. and the whole time, there'd been nothing any of them could've done. season eight was over, a full six months before anyone had expected it to end, and season nine wouldn't start until about three months later. and im still not okay about it.

(here's a cool animatic of the moon's crash! honestly i dont think you need too much hermitcraft knowledge to get the gist)

(also the moon crash happened on the day before my birthday lmao.)

….

holy shit

#ok ok let me see if i have the timeline correctly: #1) s8 begins in June and so does the new update announcement #2) months go by with no issue (that they’re aware of) #3) it’s in November when they realize the moon has been growing #4) does the moon crash in January??? #but gawddam #that is one apocalypse story if I’ve heard of one #also fitting bc i think it was 2021 where we were getting a LOT of asteroid/moon fall movies #idk what was in the air (possibly the pandemic that led to unforced isolation & ppl coped with apocalypse stories) #and somehow that bled through to a Minecraft server???? somehow????? #wild #this also reminds me of an apocalypse movie i watched with a friend called ‘3 Días’ #very good movie btw #highly recommend (it is a Spanish only film which i don’t think will be an issue bc subtitles) #anyway #asks #smp 101 with gumy #hermitcraft edition!

[iero]

You guys ever think about how if you weren't in a certain place at a certain time, in a certain predicament at a certain time you would have never heard one of your favorites bands to this day. Because I do. I think about it all the time.

#personal #If Teenagers never came on the radio in 7th grade at that moment I probably wouldn't listen to My Chem fully. #If fucking Exits didn't come on in the fucking WALMART back in 2020 at another time I never would have listened to Foals. #Like it's crazy to me. #By the way I still think it's crazy Foals was on a Walmart playlist during the pandemic but it FITS. ESP EXITS. Oh my God... #I go into the Walmart all the time for work runs and I hear some My Chem and Dashboard Confessional too. #Like I NEED to know who makes the Walmart playlists and ask them if they're OK LMAOOO

[chubbychiquita]

Oh my God, you are helping raise foster cats? Pls explain in depth

yes!!!!!!!! i grew up w 8 cats and my "if i had a million dollars" dream has always been buying a lot of land w a barn to turn into a feral/stray cat sanctuary. luckily content creation has been treating me well and i've been able to rent a place w an extra room that i've been using to foster cats! first were cotton, poof, and bagheera from the humane society but i just signed up w a smaller shelter to help with longer term medical cases!!

#ppl have been abandoning their cats at record rates post pandemic lockdowns :( #it makes me so sad to think abt but i am glad that i can help where i can #im rlly enjoying it and it fits rlly well with my lifestyle of staying home and sitting on the couch #ask

[blackbackedjackal]

there's cliche's and then there's intentionally leaving a piece vague but it still having meaning and assuming your audience isn't stupid so they can come to their own conclusions about how the piece makes them feel based on visual language

#that's what we did in art school #when you actually have to do shows and tell people in person your artist's statement #I like seeing how people feel and react to my work rather than care about the style or aesthetic or tropes used #it's the /meaning/ of the piece and I love how even though my experience is specific #it still feels relatable to others #in that moment where people go wow or that's so cool like #i had a guy run up to me once just because he bloboed a work of art I made #i love that shit #i miss shows but eugh pandemic :( #jackal's journal #my art historian would have a fit rn #her whole thing is Pompeii and she showed us how much enjoying and relating to things you love or find neat helps inspire you more #than worrying about how other people feel about you #like damn

[i-still-mask-because]

the reasons i still mask are numerous and interconnected:

because my grandmother is in hospice and i’ll be damned if i’m the one to kill her by getting her sick, i want her to live the rest of her life as healthy as she can be with cancer and dementia

because my mother works with covid+ patients every shift and i don’t want to spread a hospital-borne infection into the public, or get my mother sick and have her bring something into work or further disable her

because my city website lied about there being no covid+ patients in hospitals or ICUs, meaning that their statements about why they relax covid precautions cannot be trusted

to demonstrate to unmasked people around me that they can (and should) choose to resume masking at any point, though the sooner the better

because part of being queer for me is caring about others around me even when it goes against the status quo or “common sense”, knowing that the societal conventions of heterosexuality/cisgenderism/able-bodiedness do more harm than good

because i enjoy the fact that wearing a mask makes me look mysterious and frees me from having to care about controlling social cues for the bottom half of my face

😷

#ALL of this!!!!!!!! #that fifth point about embracing queerness and the queerness of being different as we choose to mask up!!! #EXACTLY!!!!!! #we HAVE to embrace the fact our survival depends on us not fitting in right now. we HAVE to. #our survival and the survival of marginalized folks depends on us rejecting the temptation of giving into eugenics in order to fit in #we have to ACTIVELY reject participating in the normalization of eugenics in order to save & protect each other #and 110% none of their statements about relaxing covid precautions can be trusted. #i recently found out the WHO straight up lied about covid not being airborne BACK IN MARCH 2020. #SINCE DAY 1. #i DO NOT trust these people with my life and the lives of the marginalized & vulnerable #thank you for sharing 😷💛 #covid #i still mask because #covid is airborne #covid isn't over #covid pandemic #covid awareness #ask queue

[diarythebookwyrm]

So, uh...I've recently been reading the Emelan books by Tamora Pierce and Briar's Book hits a lot different in a post-Covid world, don't it?

#how is it #I ask you gentle reader #that a fantasy world with renaissance level technology #does better pandemic care than our world in the year 2020 #boggles the mind it does #emelan #briar's book #tamora pierce #like don't get me wrong #I loved the book! #5 stars #but holy shit Tammy had her third eye wide open writing that one #the moment that really hit me was Tris complaining her glasses don't fit right over a cloth mask

[hollyhomburg]

Where do you shop for your clothes? Are there any particular brands you look out for?

OH SO- this is kinda gonna be a frustrating answer.

i shop almost exclusively at this re-sale/second chance/excess store that puts together the unsold clothing from places like free-people and anthropology and the indy brands that they carry. It's INCREDIBLY local to my stretch of the woods- it's called retail 101 in naugatuck connecticut. i got a 350$ dress new with tags for 30$ and that was the most expensive clothing item listed in the store. it's definitely worthwhile to make the drive. it's about an hour for me, at least two if you're in nyc.

shopping there helps me feel better about getting clothes- because they're generally a lot bit better quality than like h and m or primark (which is what i can reasonably afford). it's also not directly supporting like- all those big businesses and keeps unsold clothes out of the landfill ect. It's helped me get some very very nice clothing for very cheap. it's a very overstimulating experience because it's basically just a football field sized warehouse filled with clothing.

i greatly recommend it if you're overly small or overly large because their greatest selection is in the Xs and Xl range like- I think i saw a size 14 jeans that were originally 400$ on sale for 14$ so- if you're more middle sized it definitely requires some hunting.

but tbh i also hit up the target clearance section for most of my jeans because they have really reasonable sales. i got my favorite pair of ripped jeans there for 6.50$. Target just for some reason happens to fit me pretty reliably- which is honestly rare because i have a 28 inch waist but a 40 inch booty.

#i love clothes and shopping because when i was a kid i never got new or nice things. #like we were a one new pair of shoes a year household #and i got like maybe 4 outfits at a time because that was all we could afford #and even then they were holey and didn't fit me right. #I give myself a budget cuz i know i spend too much on clothing generally #but it's very healing for me to express myself that way #because when i was growing up and until i was in college really- expressing myself that way wasn't really an option. #not to mention the other aspect of my life and needing to be able to run in whatever i was wearing #this is not new holly lore but old holly lore but yeah #being stalked really does do a number on you #its funny because as a result i sort of hate sneakers now like #this is just a me issue but i had to wear sneakers for safety every day #littterally every day #just incase my stalker was following me wherever i was and i needed to run #he hasn't chased me like that since like- the first week of the pandemic so <3 #healing is still happening and i don't wear sneakers anymore #wouldn't be caught dead in em' #not that i haven't tried to get back into liking them and wearing them because some of them are comfortable

[stardustedknuckles]

It's been so long since I've had to exist within a group of people consistently over many days and damn, I nearly forgot I was autistic. I found out yesterday that though I get along with almost everyone at work, most of my coworkers thought I was a huge bitch who hated everyone for a little bit (and one still does, which is how this whole thing came up at all). I was bewildered like. No I'm very often dizzy or in a bit of pain and I'm very focused on taking care of the dogs but I'm not - I don't dislike any of you? I've never been mad at you, you guys thought I was mad?? Just an alarming disconnect between the way I see myself and the way I come off to others. I have never once gotten the hang of behaving like a regular person, but it appears that time has taken me from "generally silly person with an offbeat sense of humor who doesn't take things seriously" to "stoic hardass who doesn't like you and thinks you're stupid also." I did not authorize this change. It's throwing me for a loop. I feel like I'm 6 again being told to stop talking over people's heads because I just learned a new big word and I wanted to use and share it. I like assholes with a heart of gold in media. I don't want to be one??

#Like I've essentially been locked alone in a room for three years almost four due to the pandemic #And before that my big job was working in a warehouse where we mostly worked separately #But I remember the times we did socialize I fit in #But I also remember my coworkers were all nerds and that helped #Like idk I feel like I've been sleeping for years and woke up to being a different person #I know it's been hard for me to manage migraines and such (though it's getting easier or I'm just in a good proud period) #But damn #Everyone I've talked to at work figured out pretty quickly that I really can be fun to talk to #But this one girl is avoiding me and I think it's because I was stressed on Thanksgiving day #And probably went from an unknown to a definite asshole in her mind #So I need to talk to her but having it explained to me last night like #'I told her it's not anything personal and you're just kind of like that with everyone' and I was like #Fuck! Am I awful to interact with initially?? Or worse - always until you adapt?

[ihamtmus]

.

#so i have covid #for the FIRST time since this pandemic started i can't believe it :(( #i must have gotten it from someone at work :/ everyone kept coughing last week #and i felt sick for the last few days #and since several elderly people and a pregnant woman were supposed to go to my sister's for christmas just like me #i decided to take one of those fast tests from the pharmacy #i know they are not 100% accurate but still #i am SO glad that i was careful and didn't go to help out with the cooking as i had planned #because the pregnant woman was there and i wanted to be as careful as i could #so i didn't see her thank God #but now i have to spend christmas sick and alone #my sister will bring me some food so there's that at least #i think this is fitting at least seeing the state of the world #this is not the year we should celebrate christmas as we always do #so there's that #my post #personal

[houseofache]

shout out to the gym, the girlies were so right about you i love you

#as someone who has an addictive personality #(and is a recovered alcoholic) #i really gotta hand it to the gym for being such a powerful tool for curbing the moods that would often trigger my drinking #love u queen #you will always be famous to me #but no fr i know it’s cliche but if you’re struggling #try moving your body in a way that’s joyful to you! #it doesnt have to be the gym either— i got started in the pandemic with fucking ring fit on the switch #and it was GREAT #anyways thats all #fitness influencer!lana out #shut up lana

[chaoticvictorianspirit]

Actually, I like codependency in fiction. Let people love each other exactly in the way they long for and need. Just because they are capable of functioning seperately doesn't mean they have to when all they want to do is spend their days together and share the tiny blip of existence they have left with one another. And I'm sorry but I'm tired of screenwriters pretending that learning to be miserable on your own is somehow a superior story arch as well as a moral virtue somehow. Maybe you want realism in your fiction but I for one want my comfort characters to morph into a singular entity. I want to treat them the way I did gummy bears as a child and just leave them out in the sun until they melt together into one solid block of sweetness. Reality is already depressing enough. Friendships end. Love fades. Life gets in the way and seperates people who aren't ready for their journey together to be over yet. Loved ones leave us all the time and sometimes there's no good explanation and it's unfair and painful and too often there's nothing you can do about it. And sometimes the one person you wish you could talk about it with the most is the one that's leaving and it fucking sucks. [And I get that this is precisely why we need these themes in fiction to confront these feeling and cope with them in a setting removed from reality but that's not what this post is about damn it.] I just wish this weren't the only angle we got. I wish we also got the "easy" happy endings, the unrealistic friendships, the kind of closeness that isn't portrayed as weighing you down but rather lifting you up. I wish fairytales weren't only for children and I wish adults didn't take such pride in forgetting they were children once, too. Can't we at least have the nice things in our little made up worlds?

TL;DR: Girls should get to have their little escapist delusions. As a treat.

#was this prompted by a fucking buddy comedy show about two guys bitching at each other over zoom? well #staged finale really poked some Painful places #not saying the episode itself should go differently btw it fit the show and the pandemic setting very well #like it was actually an amazing piece of writing and performance and the ending was symbolic and bittersweet and very true to many people's #actual experience at the end of the pandemic. it was glorious and good. but I'm also depressed about it. and this is my post to cope so... #I'm just very emotional at the moment and Sayning Things. don't expect me to fully Mean them too. #there's a much bigger narrative and a more nuanced take here but I don't feel like writing it atm. this post is about found families and #platonic soulmates and life partners in fiction getting to stay together and about not being forced to move on when the people involved #don't want to move on and don't need to move on. this post is about comfort and that's enough. please don't expect me to be eloquent today #staged #found family #platonic soulmates #and yes this is also very much about stranger things okay I am not rid of my other demons yet

[pixielle-blpls]

#blpls playlist #bluepulse #pov: blue #i'm genuinely surprised that i've not seen an angst edit for them with this chorus given how much their scenes would fit #specifically thinking abt the night desert one and the fights against kal artemis and their villain associates #but also the deserted street scene in intervention where the ambassador tries to force j to kill b and b's pinned to the wall #p.s. i heard this song maybe once or twice in the early pandemic when my then gf was still into glass animals but it never clicked #and i somehow fully missed the whole era when it was a constant tiktok sound lmao #i've never had/gotten into tiktok so it's not overplayed to /me/ fjkldasjf

[datshitrandom]

Klaine Secret Santa 2022 | Merry Christmas @raimykeller 🎄🎅🏻 ˚*✧･ﾟ| Blaine & Kurt are apartment neighbors who met on their respective fire escapes during the pandemic lockdown.

#kurt hummel #blaine anderson #klaine #pandemic!klaine #klaine fanart #klainesecretsanta2022 #manga sfx #in order of appearance #*sigh* #*grr* #*heart thump* #*totally in love* #*blush* #idk a thing about weather in ny so i hope their clothes fit 😅 #i hope you like it 🙈 #just a photo manip #my klaine stuff

[freebooter4ever]

awww basketball again

#malkin #tanger where is your penguin hat #oh wait dallas is a few days ago this must be old #i do appreciate how even though geno wears expensive sweaters and shit #his favorite hat is still just a 50$ trucker cap from a historically high quality but relatively affordable hat shop #its just cute: rich famous hockey celebrity but still just geno #When i bought my first go*orin hat i must have gone into the shop at least twice if not three times trying to decide which one i wanted #I had just gotten my first job in LA and Old Town pas is one of those Fancy shopping districts so i felt very awkward and out of place #and jenn had to go with me to drag me into the shop i was so nervous #And she tried on a bunch of the hats with me cause shes nice like that #Anyway yeah the folks in go*orin were real nice to us which if you have ever been into botique shops in LA you will know thats unusual #Most of the time they are rude assholes especially if you dont look like you are going to spend any money #I did buy a hat it was a little directors cap like the one walt wore in the 20s before he went into his porkpie phase #I do not like porkpie hats i will never wear one of those LOL #But i was determined to have a directors cap because if i was here in LA living the dream i was gonna look the part #I was still optimistic about things back then #Weirdly enough when i got my second job a month later the hat became a thing because it turned out everyone at the studio wore hats lol #I fit right in #And then the pandemic happened and suddenly nobody was going into the office at all for a very long time :(

[ineffable-kelpie]

A Retired Angel's Report

Rating: G

Wordcount: 1,500

Prompt: Smiling into a hug

Characters: Aziraphale, Crowley

-

Aziraphale fidgeted with his ring under the table as Crowley unpacked their takeout lunch. This was ridiculous. He was ridiculous. He just hoped he could get through this lunch without Crowley realizing how ridiculous he was.

“Sushi for you,” said Crowley, presenting the now-plated sushi with a flourish. “And sake for me,” they added, opening the bottle and pouring themself a glass.

“And also for me, I hope,” said Aziraphale.

“Sorry, did you want some?”

Aziraphale shot Crowley a look.

“Alright, I can be persuaded to share,” said Crowley, pouring one for Aziraphale. “Cheers, angel.”

They clinked glasses. Crowley seemed in a good mood. Well, of course they were, they hadn’t been out of their flat in a while, and it had been even longer since the two of them had gone out for lunch. They still couldn’t exactly do that, with all the restaurants closed for lockdown, but takeout in the back of the bookshop was the next best thing.

“So how’s tricks?” Crowley asked, crossing their legs as they sipped the sake. “Bake any more cakes? How’s the sourdough starter?”

“Mary’s doing very well, thank you. I’ve given away some of her offshoots to my neighbors. We’re talking about organizing a bake sale for charity.” There, he’d slipped that in quite naturally. This was going to be fine.

Crowley made an odd face. “Is that the best idea in a pandemic?”

“Oh.” Aziraphale swallowed, feeling even more foolish. “Er. Perhaps you’re right. I suppose nobody would come out, anyway.” He chuckled at himself and shook his head. “Um, I talked to Nina, across the street, and convinced her to convinced her to give her family a call, try to reconnect with them.” That segue wasn’t quite as natural. “It’s…it’s nice, I think, for people to check up on each other right now. From a safe distance. Don’t you think?”

“Sure,” Crowley muttered. They were watching Aziraphale with something like confusion.

“I mean—not with you,” Aziraphale added hurriedly. “I’m very glad to see you in person, as long as neither of us are seeing anyone else in person. Er, speaking of seeing things, I’ve been putting up encouraging flyers around the neighborhood,” Aziraphale charged on. He spun his ring around his pinkie faster and faster. “Well, er, one of my tenants has, and I helped. And suggested a few slogans. I tried my hand at writing a poem, in fact, although I don’t think it was very—”

“Aziraphale,” Crowley interrupted, “is everything alright?”

“Perfectly,” Aziraphale said automatically, and then remembered the general state of the world. “Well, no obviously not. But I’m doing quite well, circumstances aside. Spreading peace and well-being, just like always.”

Crowley treated him to a long stare across the table. “You haven’t touched your sushi,” they said, gesturing at the plate. “You’ve been antsy since I got here, and you’ve talked nonstop since I asked what you’ve been up to.”

“Well, I haven’t talked to much of anyone in a long while,” Aziraphale said defensively. “Excuse me if I need to adjust.”

“Hang on.” A crease appeared between Crowley’s eyebrows. “Are you giving me a report?”

Aziraphale froze for just a second before remembering to act casual. “A…report?” they repeated, and tried to laugh. It didn’t come out right. “Why would I do that? It’s not as though I need to give reports to anyone anymore.”

“You are,” said Crowley. “You’re telling me all the Good stuff you’ve been doing since lockdown started.”

“I—um—” Aziraphale could try to keep denying it, but he doubted Crowley would believe him.

Crowley was tense. They took a drink, set down their glass, and looked at the table. “Do you, er…miss it? Since you quit?”

“No!” Aziraphale said at once. But that wasn’t the entire truth. His shoulders sagged. “Well…Heaven, I don’t miss. Gabriel I certainly don’t miss. But it…it feels nice to tell someone about the good things I’ve done. It, I don’t know, it makes them feel real.” And when he didn’t tell someone, he felt anxious. Like he was failing a test. Like he’d put in all the effort to study, and couldn’t find a pencil to fill it in with.

He looked down at his sushi, still untouched. He couldn’t summon an appetite for it now. “It’s silly,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—You don’t care about that stuff anyway.”

“Of course we do,” said Crowley, in a terrible American accent, brimming with fake enthusiasm. “These are valuable accomplishments that, er, align with our quarterly objectives. Let’s circle back after the deep dive. Synergy.”

Aziraphale was so baffled that he forgot to feel embarrassed. “Crowley, what on Earth…?”

“Trying to make it feel like you’re giving a real report,” said Crowley, in their regular voice. “That’s how Gabriel talks, right?”

Aziraphale burst out laughing, so hard that he doubled over. That he’d been so worried about Crowley thinking him foolish, and Crowley’s reaction had been that… “Crowley—” Aziraphale gasped, wiping his eyes. “Yes, that’s exactly how Gabriel sounds. But I don’t want to feel like I’m talking to Gabriel. I told you, I’m glad to be rid of him.”

“Thank fuck,” said Crowley, slouching in relief. “Need to go wash the corporate buzzwords out of my mouth after that. Er, I can maybe do Michael?”

“I don’t want to feel like I’m reporting to anyone in Heaven,” said Aziraphale. “Except for the part where I tell you the good things I’ve done, and…”

Crowley’s eyebrows rose when Aziraphale didn’t finish the thought immediately. “And?”

Aziraphale felt very small. If Crowley didn’t think him ridiculous now, they definitely would if he voiced the next part aloud.

“And what, angel?” Crowley prompted. “I can’t read your mind.”

“And…” Aziraphale couldn’t look at Crowley. “Well, I don’t think he often meant it, but Gabriel would usually tell me I’d done a good job…”

Crowley’s chair scraped against the floor. Aziraphale looked up to see Crowley and their chair right next to him. Crowley leaned over, reached for Aziraphale with both arms, and hugged him. “Would Gabriel do this?”

Aziraphale blinked as he processed the position he was in. His heart raced. He had scarcely spoken to anyone these past few months, much less touched anyone, much less been hugged. And to be hugged by Crowley, over something like this, for such an absurd…it could only be described as a weakness…he didn’t quite know how to wrap his head around it. “N-no,” he said, in answer to Crowley’s question. “No, never.”

“Good,” said Crowley. “Means I can do it, then. And you’re doing so good, Aziraphale.”

Aziraphale wanted to believe them. But that wasn’t usually how his reports went. “You don’t have to say that if you don’t mean it.”

“I do,” said Crowley, squeezing Aziraphale harder. “Course I do. You’re still trying to make people’s lives a little bit better, even now that you don’t have to. That’s amazing.”

Oh. Aziraphale did believe him. He found himself smiling into the hug, unable to stop himself. This was so much better than his reports to Gabriel. He raised his arms to hug Crowley back.

“By the way, you do know you don’t have to keep doing Good, right?” said Crowley. “I mean, you obviously can, and good for you, but you’d still be plenty Good even if you’re not racking up achievements.”

Ah. Aziraphale didn’t know that, not in his heart. That was never how things worked in Heaven. Maybe, with time, he’d be able to believe it. “I’ll try to remember that.”

They hugged for a few moments longer, and then Crowley pulled away. “Now eat your sushi,” they ordered, doing a half-decent impression of someone who wasn’t the least bit sentimental and hadn’t recently hugged and comforted an unemployed angel. “I carried it here for a reason, and it wasn’t for the exercise.”

Aziraphale laughed and wiped a hint of water from his eyes. He still couldn’t stop smiling. “Yes, of course, my dear.” He picked up his chopsticks, dabbed a piece of sushi with soy sauce, and popped it into his mouth.

He closed his eyes to better savor the experience, noting the delicate balance of flavors, the way the tuna practically melted on his tongue. He hummed in appreciation, feeling the corners of his mouth turn up, and then swallowed. When he opened his eyes, Crowley was smiling at him across the table, their gaze soft.

“Good, I take it?” Crowley asked.

“Scrumptious.” Aziraphale turned his attention back to the plate and went for another piece. “Thank you, my dear.” He didn’t just mean for bringing the sushi. It tasted better, now that he’d finished his “report.” It felt like he’d earned the indulgence.

He knew that Crowley would object to that reasoning. But he also knew that Crowley would go along with whatever logic Aziraphale set forth which allowed him to enjoy himself. And maybe, in time, Aziraphale wouldn’t need that so much, either.

#good omens fanfic #good omens ficlet #hugfest 2024 #ineffable partners #covid pandemic #lockdown #I'll be honest this was just an excuse to fit a plot bunny I didn't know what to do with into a hug prompt #cyankelpie's fic

[the-togepi-man]

How did the move to the DC area go? Or is that still upcoming?

I move this weekend and I am very excited

#and also nervous as all fuck #ive been packing #and donating clothes that dont fit me so ive been beating myself up over that #and everything is sentimental to me which is OBNOXIOUS lmao #like “omg i lived here when the pandemic started” was a thought i had #who thinks like that?? like?? oh wow so nostalgic #a global pandemic?? #anyway #i am also very excited im just bad with inbetween time