Catherine Chidgey, From 'Remote Sympathy'

          ———      ⁂      Quinn had spent the day now gone at her apartment in town. She needed to decompress. The amount of studying she was forcing herself to do wasn't healthy. She knew that, she did, and yet she carried on. Part of it was the same anxiety she had carried her whole life: that at some point, she would get complacent and fail horribly for everyone to see. She had come so close a few times. Mostly it was a distraction. If Quinn worked herself to the bone, there wouldn't be time to think about her missing cousin, the heightened public interest in her family, her tangled feelings. It had taken accidentally crashing in the library last night for her to finally take a day off. Was it a waste of a day? Absolutely. But that was what she needed. Challenging herself to a chocolate macaron recipe by Pierre Hermé, the sun had long set by the time she had 24 little iced meringues she was content enough with. 

                                     Walking back to campus, sealed tupperware hugged tightly in her arms, Quinn was wrapped in a thick woollen coat that grazed her ankles. She imagined she might cut an intimidating figure in the shadows if she wasn't the height of nothing. The sophomore hadn't noticed it was Ollie walking ahead of her until he turned around. She grinned.                        ❝ Would you like to bleed out fast and get it over with           or nice and slow so you can ponder over all your terrible life choices ? ❞

Near the dorms, Late Wednesday Night. ( open ! )

It was colder outside than Ollie had thought as he walked from the dorms to the nearby 7-11 to get a Big Gulp late at night, and back again. He’d spent more than enough time in his room, really only leaving for one of two reasons. Going to class, or visiting Monty(/replenishing his supply). But he couldn’t last all week in a dark room sitting in front of a computer screen working out this phone tracking issue, and sorting out any pre mid-term issues he was having before that time of the year came up out of no where, like it seemed to every year. It was one of the busiest times of the year for his business, but also one of the most lucrative, so he wouldn’t complain. It was nice to get some fresh air, despite the nearly freezing temperatures as he walked along the campus sidewalk back towards Waverly, chewing on the bright red straw from the large plastic cup in his hand, slowing when he started to notice foot steps behind him. “Please tell me you’re following me because you’re planning on stabbing me, that will solve so many of my problems,” he said, turning to see who it was behind him. “Please?”

artwork by @holly-warbs

[ID: Digital art that has been broken up into four panels. It is of a person wearing a long blue coat and blue pants with a green backpack, with long black hair and a pale face. They are reaching out to a white, translucent figure next to them. The background gives a vague impression of a field, and blue and purple night sky. White text has been added that reads, “Is it haunting? If I’m the one leaving open a crack in the window.” END ID]

ironlvngs·:

     instead of denying, he shrugs at her — he’s never denied the attraction he’s had to her before. to her face, at least… in front of greer ? well, he had to keep up appearances, no ? plus, the ongoing illusion of what’s going on between greer and link ?? would be shattered, if he publicly went for her cousin. “ it’s human nature, isn’t it ? why are we constantly breaking the rules otherwise ? besides that, though, you hold your head up high. that’s attractive. ” he responds, leaning back against the wall after exhaling his smoke into the running water. “ well, you’re in this locker room alone.. in the middle of the party. planning a costume change or hiding ? can’t be anything else. ”

               she   smiled   coyly.   "i   was   waiting   for   someone   interesting   to   show   up,   and   they   did,   but   i'm   appalled   by   your   lack   of   imagination."   quinn   stubbed   her   half-smoked   cigarette   out   on   the   white   tile;   it   hissed   against   the   moisture   as   it   died.   before   she   could   think   herself   out   of   it,   quinn   nimbly   swung   herself   over   his   lap   so   that   she   was   straddled   on   top.   the   skin   of   her   thighs   met   his   jeans   and   she   hoped   she   had   picked   the   right   moment   to   make   a   move.   as   her   hands   weaved   lightly   behind   link's   neck,   she   looked   into   his   eyes   and   thought   of   all   the   late   nights   he   left   her   on   read.   all   the   contemptible   craving,   despite   her   better   judgement.   "don't   you   know   how   much   fun   a   woman   can   have   while   everyone   thinks   she's   alone?"   

It makes your heart race. It turns the world upside-down. But if you’re not careful, if you don’t keep your eyes on something still, you can lose your balance, you know?

PRACTICAL MAGIC (1998) dir. Griffin Dunne

BROOKLYN NINE NINE SEASON 4 EPISODE 16

FLORENCE PUGH as Alice DON’T WORRY DARLING 2022 | dir. Olivia Wilde

QUINN MORRISON @ greer’s birthday pool party

𝕨𝕙𝕠      @ironlvngs​ 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖  the pool party 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕟    late into the evening, the attendees are suitably buzzed

              she   sat   alone   in   the   men's   locker   room.   after   a   failed   attempt   to   complete   her   dare,   quinn   was   toying   with   the   idea   of   giving   up   and   going   home.   while   she   didn't   want   the   anonymous   'g'   spilling   her   secrets—   she   also   knew   if   they   did,   they'd   have   little   left   to   blackmail   her   with.   was   it   worth   the   risk?   as   tempting   as   it   was,   at   this   time   in   the   term;   absolutely   not.   it   was   still   early   enough   in   the   year   that   the   whispers   would   follow   her   into   next.   that   paired   with   greer's   disappearance   and   she   would   be   a   laughing   stock.   she   cared   too   much   about   her   reputation   for   that.

              so   she   fell   on   her   backup   plan...   as   shameful   as   it   was.   the   scheme   was   basic,   a   little   desperate   and   it   relied   on   the   base   desire   of   even   the   most   prudish   college   students   to   give   in   to   their   lust.   ogden   students   in   particular   had   a   proclivity   for   believing   they   were   god   given   gifts.   if   she   targeted   someone   she   had   some   kind   of   history   with,   someone   she   knew   would   fall   for   her   flirting,   quinn   was   sure   she   could   pull   this   off.

              just   as   the   blonde   was   about   to   get   up   from   the   bench   and   go   back   into   the   main   hall   where   the   pool,   and   most   of   the   party,   still   was,   lady   luck   dropped   a   prize   goose   into   her   lap.   she   tilted   her   head   as   the   door   swung   shut   behind   link.   the   overheads   were   off   and   the   light   was   low.   still,   she   could   make   out   their   silhouette   from   that   mop   head   they   called   hair.   "you   better   not   be   following   me,   crawford."   she   sung   into   the   space   between   them,   her   voice   honeyed   and   inviting.