#i think it's worth mentioning that this is the first figure i've bought

[hiiragi-psychotherapy]

my Raidou figma came in the mail yesterday!! (additional photos under the cut)

[mrs-weasley-reid]

SAY DON'T GO

Spencer Reid x bau!reader

Sypnosis: Nothing hurts more than the fear of losing you. Word Count: 1600+ WARNING: Angst. mentions of death, blood, gunshot A/N: I wrote this in a haste, literally ten minutes ago, while listening to Say Don't Go (Taylor's Version) by mother Taylor Swift. It's definitely not perfect, but I was definitely in the zone when I wrote it, lol.

A gunshot.

Everything fades into a muffle. You blink once, twice, thrice... A wince connects your brows. As if you're figuring out if the oozing feeling on your abdomen should be causing you pain or ease.

Suddenly, Spencer's running to you. You think he's screaming. You hear nothing. There's only ringing in your ears. A thin, high-pitched ring that pierces through your brain.

You drop on the precinct's carpet floor, caressing your stomach like it's enough to stop yourself from bleeding out. You look at Spencer, "When'd you get here?" You ask, disoriented. You instantly pay attention to his watery eyes. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?" You reach to cup his cheek. You are shocked when you see your hand covered in red, smearing the liquid on his skin. Your eyes widen, "Oh, my god?! You're hurt! Spence—" You try to sit up, but a wave of stinging pain makes you fall back in his arms.

"WHERE'S THE MEDIC?!" Spencer's voice echoes in the entire place. He turns to you, unsure if he is even allowed to have you in his arms. He doesn't dwell on it as he holds your hand on his cheek, squeezing it. "Hey, hey! Breathe for me, yeah? Stay with me." He swallows a sob, placing pressure on your abdomen. "Please, stay with me..."

"I'm hurt?" Stupor begins to steal you out of consciousness. You blink. A bright light blinds your vision.

Once you open your eyes, you're back in Spencer's apartment. He's standing across the room while your feet are rooted at the door. He doesn't look at you. No. He's afraid to look at you.

His hands are buried in his pockets. He's wearing a nice suit. Fitted just for him. His tie is a dark shade of purple. You gave him that tie for his birthday last year. It's loose. His hair is a mess. And his face... it's wet.

He's crying.

You're crying.

"I think you should go," Spencer takes a gulp as he stares at the floor. Like it'd kill him if he looked at you.

You inhale deeply, sniffing as you wipe a tear with the back of your hand, "We don't have to do this, Spence. You don't have to do this."

"Yes, we do!" For the first time in what feels like forever, he finally lifts his gaze at you. His hazel eyes are rimmed with red heat, overflowing with tears. He's hurt. He's hurt, too.

"Is it really that horrible to love me?" You sob. You can hear your heart slowly shatter. Pins and needles knock on your chest. You wonder if you're still breathing right. "Am I that ugly—"

"You know that's not true, sweetheart." You hate that the nickname gives you butterflies. How his words, awful and insensitive, still made you attentively listen. How his voice still makes you want to hear more. "You're the most beautiful person I've ever met."

"Then why?!" You felt like a child throwing a tantrum. "Why are you putting a distance between us?" You bite your lower lip to stop it from quivering. "Why is it such a crime to be together?"

Spencer shifts his gaze to somewhere else. He runs a hand through his hair. You notice the coffee stain at the cuff of his sleeve. Then, you see the smudge of red lipstick past the line of his lips. Your red lipstick. He bought that lipstick a few months ago. No reason. Just for the fun of it.

Is it bad that you think he still looks handsome under the sun's setting light? Even when his hair is arrayed in different directions? Even when his face is drenched with his own tears?

He breathes deeply, audibly, "We're in the same line of work. You know better than to think we're going to work. News flash, sweetheart. It won't. It's not worth it." He can't look at you. He's ashamed to look at you.

"Not... worth it?" You blink. You stare at him with disgust, "So— So what? We're nothing, but we fuck? We're nothing, but we flirt? We're nothing, but you love me? Please, explain it to me because I'm having a difficult time understanding the stupid shit of a point you're making."

Spencer gulps for the nth time, "You love me."

"What?" You regret wanting to meet his eyes because now that he's staring at yours with such unfamiliarity, it hurts.

"You love me. You said you love me. I never said anything."

You're definitely not breathing right.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

"Inhale, exhale... Yeah, that's right, sweetheart. Just follow me." Spencer holds your hand tight as the paramedics do their best to stop you from bleeding out. His voice sounds heartbreaking.

His voice...

You blink. Your hearing's back. You do as he says, inhaling and exhaling as he does. You feel lightheaded, like you're floating on a cloud.

Spencer keeps his and your hands intertwined. He follows while the paramedics roll you into the ambulance. "Hang in there, sweetheart. Please, hang in there." His face is a mess. He doesn't stop crying, swallowing his sobs.

You smile into the oxygen mask, blinking. You're on the verge of dying, and yet you find humor in knowing Spencer's tells. "You swallow when you're scared... don't be scared, Spence." You say it in broken words and in an almost soundless voice.

"I'm not," He denies, wiping his tears aggressively. He is. He's scared to the bone.

"The bullet shattered to her chest," The paramedic who inspects your chest claims, looking at her partner with worry.

"W-what?" Spencer stutters, stealing a glimpse down your neck. "No, no, sweetheart. Stay with me. Stay with me." He sees the way you flutter your eyes, fighting to stay conscious, listening to his pleas. And how you suddenly stopped, never opening your eyes back up. "Don't— Don't close your eyes! Sweetheart, please don't go. Please, don't—" He looks up at the sound of your vitals plummeting. He quickly looks back at your face, saying your name like it's a prayer.

The machine flatlines, and the paramedic pushes Spencer aside to perform resuscitation. "Sir, let us do our job." One of them says, two inches deep as she manually restarts your heart.

Spencer shoves himself in the corner of the ambulance. He wraps his arms around him. "Please, don't go..." His voice cracks and transitions into writhing sobs as he watches your body go limp with each surge of electricity that shocks your skin.

Then he thinks of that night.

He thinks of the image of you standing by the door. You don't want to go. He doesn't want you to go.

But you have to... because if you don't, he'll run to you and never let you go. So, he tells you to leave. You protest.

So stubborn. He cries in his head, wishing that you hadn't made things difficult for being so beautiful even when you're crying.

"You love me. You said you love me. I never said anything." His body shakes on the spot. His mouth goes dry. His chest compresses. He lies through his teeth.

Spencer saw the way your face turned into a ghost. He's done it.

He broke you.

He hurt you.

No turning back. No way of fixing it.

"Ah..." You say softly, nodding. "Checks out." You add without a sign of sarcasm. You stare into the air for a minute. You let the silence hover and hunt Spencer for a moment. You let him realize the pain, the stupidity of it all. "I think I should leave..." Your eyes say otherwise.

Please say, "Don't go." Tell me not to leave. Run to me... please.

You wonder if he knows it or chooses to ignore the way you held your tears. If he caught on all your tells. Because you knew he wasn't true. You knew he knew that you could read him like the back of your hand.

"Yeah," Spencer straightens his back, "I think you should."

You purse your lips into a thin line and nod, "Okay," You turn around. You take three seconds to grab the knob, but when the time has run out, you are out in a heartbeat.

"Spencer."

JJ appears in Spencer's vision. "Spencer, are you okay?" Her face was covered with worry as she placed two hands on his shoulders. She exchanges looks with Derek and Aaron.

They were there when it all went down. When the unsub came out of nowhere and started shooting. You were the first shot.

Spencer cranes his neck around. He's in the waiting room. He doesn't remember when or how he got there. All he remembers is the defibrillator jolting your unresponsive body more than once. His eyes widen. He says your name in haste as he stands up, "Where is she? Where— Where..."

Derek holds him back, "She's in surgery, Reid. Did you forget?" He asks, gently pushing Spencer back onto his seat.

"She was dead for three minutes... They couldn't find a pulse for three minutes." Spencer announces at a loss. He looks down at his hand, at the cheap friendship bracelet around his wrist. The one you made in your first year with the team as a last-minute birthday gift. He breaks into a sob, covering his eyes as if to push them back inside his tear ducts.

"So?" Derek catches Spencer's hands off his face, "She's been in surgery for thirty minutes. Her heart started beating again, and it had been for thirty minutes. She's fighting, man. At least fight with her before you wallow like a ninny."

"Morgan," Aaron warns but silently agrees.

You're fighting for your life, so they should, too.

You're not ready to go.

You don't want to go.

Spencer nods and wipes his face. He sniffs and takes a deep breath. He glances at the door to the operating room like he has x-ray vision, "Don't go."

reid masterlist | masterlist

[justabigassnerd]

Baby on Board's... Baby?

Pairing - Robert 'Bob' Floyd x daughter!reader

Word count - 1,799

Warnings - talks of being left out, pretty much just fluff

Summary - the Daggers find out Bob has a kid and short circuit at the news

A/N - it's fic time! I'm so sorry for how long it's taken for me to get a fic out, I've been going through some shit and I'm only just feeling up to writing. this may not be the best thing I've written, Bob is really fucking hard to write but I have to give a shoutout to @maverick-wingman and @horseslovers2016 for the peer pressure otherwise this fic wouldn't exist in the first place. anyways I'll stop rambling now, as per y'all, please send in requests, feedback and enjoy!!!

Your grip on your dad’s hand tightened as he leads you towards the looming doors of the Hard Deck.

“You okay, y/n/n?” Bob asks as he stops, turning to face you and crouching down to be at your height. You remain silent, thinking about whether you wanted to tell your dad how you were feeling.

“I’m scared.” You eventually admit, looking down at your shoes as your dad’s face softens at your words.

“Oh, sweet pea, it’s okay to be scared, this is a new place with new people. We don’t have to stay long if you don’t want to. But Phoenix is going to be there, and everyone else is so nice I just know they’ll love you.” Bob says softly, smiling as he notices you perk up at the mention of Phoenix being there.

“Nix?” You ask, your eyes lighting up at the thought of seeing your beloved godmother.

“Yeah, Phoenix is here.” Bob says with a smile as you look to the door of the Hard Deck, eager to see your other favourite human. You hold your arms up as an indication that you want to be picked up and Bob obliges, scooping you up and sitting you on his hip.

“Remember jellybean, if you want to go home, let me know and we’ll head home.” Bob whispers reassuringly, waiting for you to nod before he pushes the door open, searching for his squadron while you eagerly search for Phoenix, using you being in your dad’s arms as a vantage point.

“Nix!” You call out when you see your godmother amongst a group and wiggle to get out of your dad’s arms so you can rush over to Phoenix.

“Hello, y/n/n. How’s my favourite princess doing?” Phoenix beams as she scoops you up effortlessly the moment you reach her, cuddling you close as you giggle, your little arms hugging her as fiercely as you can.

“You got a kid, Phoenix?” Payback questions, eyebrow raised at the sight before him, having missed you calling out to Phoenix and only saw her scooping you up and hugging you tight. At Payback’s words, the rest of the Daggers watched Phoenix carefully as Bob joined the group, unnoticed by everyone.

“I’m her godmother. She’s not mine. She’s Bob’s.” Phoenix says, and at her words, everyone is made hyper-aware of Bob’s presence nearby and Hangman chokes on his beer, coughing loudly as Coyote slaps him harshly on the back.

“Wait, so you’re telling me that Baby on Board actually has a baby?” Hangman manages to say once he’s recovered enough to speak, eye wide as he looks from you in Phoenix’s arms to Bob.

“And you kept her a secret since we met?” Fanboy pesters, shock written all over his face at the realisation of how long Bob had been keeping his daughter a secret from the squadron.

“She stayed with my parents when we were initially called back, I thought it would be a short detachment but when it became permanent, I bought a place and now this is home for us.” Bob says, crossing to Phoenix and skilfully taking you in his arms.

“Then why did you tell Phoenix but not us?” Rooster asks quietly, all of the Daggers wearing a slightly hurt expressions that they were left out of this.

“I figured you guys wouldn’t really care. You guys became your own little group and I’m usually on the sidelines, so I thought it wasn’t worth wasting my breath trying to tell you guys because you’d rather talk about training or dart tournaments. But also y/n is very shy, and you guys can get quite loud, so I wanted to take things at her pace.” Bob explains with a light shrug, a small smile crossing his face when you cuddle closer, burying your face in his neck before you look out at all the people watching you curiously. At Bob’s words the Daggers exchange sorrowful looks, feeling bad for making Bob feel like he couldn’t talk to them or be open about things if he wanted. They knew Bob was quieter than most of the Dagger Squad and he had a tendency to slip away into the background because of how rowdy and loud the group could be. They also knew he was close with Phoenix; it shouldn’t come as a surprise to them at all. Most pilots got on well with their WSOs, they needed to have a strong trust between them, and Phoenix was the first person to act welcoming towards Bob when the team became aware of his presence that first night in the Hard Deck.

“Hey, we’re really sorry man. We never meant to make you feel like you weren’t part of the group, because you are. You’re a badass and have been since the uranium mission. You got a lock on the structure which is more than I can say, we’re lucky Rooster managed to drop blind and hit the target.” Fanboy says, looking down and then glancing back up as Bob moves, handing you to Phoenix so he could cross to Fanboy.

“Don’t put yourself down Fanboy, you were picked for the mission for a reason, and you’ve been picked for more since then. You’re a great wizzo, Payback’s lucky to have you.” Bob says, patting Fanboy on the shoulder and glancing over at Payback who nods in agreement before clapping Fanboy on the back as Bob moves back to Phoenix, taking you in his arms. As Bob takes you back into his arms, the team exchange knowing nods, vowing that they’ll never let Bob feel like his thoughts and stories didn’t matter as much and that they’d include him more. As they looked back at Bob, they caught Phoenix’s eye who simply raised an eyebrow. She had stayed quiet on Bob’s request because he didn’t want to be a bother although Phoenix insisted, he’d never be a bother to her or the team. Part of her had hoped the team would notice that Bob had a tendency to disappear into the background and that they’d include him a little more but apparently, it took Bob bringing his daughter to actually get attention.

“So, how old’s baby Bob?” Payback asks, the team keeping a distance so as to not overwhelm you. You heard Payback’s question and held up three fingers while keeping yourself as buried in your dad’s embrace as possible.

“Three? Damn, kid that’s the best age to be.” Hangman says with a grin, making you look at him, offering him a small smile when you make eye contact. Intrigued by the man who had told you that being three was the best, you squirmed in your dad’s arms, requesting to be put down and when Bob obliged, you toddled over to Hangman, looking up at him curiously before holding your arms up for him to pick you up. Hangman looked over at Bob who nodded, giving him permission to scoop you up into his arms as you giggled. Hangman carefully navigated sitting you on his shoulders, holding on to your legs as you admire being high up. Hangman carefully walks over to the jukebox, taking you off his shoulders, sitting you back on his hip and pointing out which buttons you need to press to play a song, making sure it was appropriate for you to listen to. After putting the song on, Jake places you down on the floor and dances with you, twirling you effortlessly as you giggle and dance along to the music as the Daggers watch on with large smiles. When the song ends, the Daggers clap as you dart back over to your dad and are immediately scooped up into your dads’ arms. Rooster quirked an eyebrow when he noticed you turn your attention to the piano, looking at it curiously.

“Does y/n like piano?” Rooster asks, crossing to Bob who notices your stare at the piano.

“My parents have one at their house, but it mostly sits there collecting dust. It probably reminds her of her grandparents.” Bob says, bouncing you lightly on his hip. Getting an idea, Rooster crosses to the jukebox and unplugs it, eliciting a groan from every patron in the bar as Rooster sat himself at the piano, playing some light notes, his fingers dancing across the keys masterfully. Bob and the others cross to the piano, knowing where Rooster is going with his piano playing. Bob sits you on top of the piano, keeping a hand braced on your back just in case you leant back too far, and Rooster then began playing ‘Great Balls of Fire’ getting the whole bar singing in seconds. You picked up the ‘goodness gracious, great balls of fire’ lyric quickly and were soon attempting to join in whenever the bar sang that one lyric. When the song concludes, you clap as loud as your little hands will allow as the patron’s whoop and cheer. Bob picks you back up and everyone moves to sit down at tables to converse some more over some drinks and snacks. The Daggers involve Bob in their conversations and ask questions about not only him but you, arranging a day for you, your dad, and the team to go to the beach to spend some more time together, naming themselves your new cool uncles, earning a raised eyebrow from Phoenix and Bob. The moment a small yawn slipped past your lips; Bob was up on his feet instantly while keeping you in his arms.

“I should think about heading home, it’s almost y/n’s bedtime.” Bob says, addressing the Daggers who all bid him and you goodnight as Phoenix gets to her feet.

“Night night y/n/n.” Phoenix whispers, pressing a quick kiss to the top of your head.

“Night night, Nix.” You mumble, clinging to your dad and burying your face in his shirt as you wave goodbye to the rest of the Daggers who give you waves of their own. Bob then exits the Hard Deck, crossing to his car and buckling you into your car seat before brushing a stray piece of hair out of your face and pressing a soft kiss to the top of your head.

Unbeknownst to Bob, Hangman crossed to the door of the bar, leaning against the frame as he watches the car pull away. The second the car was out of his line of sight he entered the bar, eyes gleaming with joy at what he had seen as he crosses back to the Daggers who all, bar Phoenix, looked up at him with bated breath, each of them hoping they won the bet the team had quickly made. All eyes were on Hangman as he opened his mouth to speak.

“He’s got a baby on board sign in the window.”

[bonny-kookoo]

Jungkook

X♡X♡ [SEVEN DAYS] Day 3 Teaser

If you gave him your heart, your soul, your body- what would he do to those things? Maybe it's time to see if he can handle your love for once, and not just the other way around.

Tags/Warnings: Porn with a lot of plot basically, inexperienced!reader, Dom!Jungkook, BDSM themes and elements, mild Angst, fluff, slow burn but we'regetting somewhere, they have chemistry but mc has trust issues, mentions of past domestic abuse (mental), Outercourse (basically non-penetrative sex), toys, Cumplay, it's messy smh

Length: ???

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐜.♡

A/N: I'm busy in the kitchen come get your snack

◇━━━━━━━━━━X♡X♡━━━━━━━━━━━◇

He's got the audacity to laugh over your shoulder, front pressed into your back, hands teasing your sides as they sneak up your loose shirt.

"Bought one that's about my size." He purrs sensually, almost like he's mocking you. But it's not malicious- playful, if anything, but not mean ok any way. "So you can call it.. practice." He explains, while you stare at the nearly clear pink dildo that's staring at you, still packaged together with other things in the black plastic bag in your lap.

"Jungkook.. when did you even buy those things?" You wonder, feeling almost scared to touch any of the things inside.

"Earlier, when you were napping." He shrugs easily, hand reaching past your body to shamelessly dump the contents of the bag on the bed, bag flying somewhere on the floor. "Anything look like an absolute no-go to you?" He asks curiously, and you look without touching.

There's an egg-shaped item there you're not too sure of what it might be. The dildo explains itself, clearly- and the other massage wand is also pretty self-explanatory. There's two bottles of lube- one pink, the other blue. A.. plug, with a pretty pink gemstone on one end of it. Leather handcuffs, with soft looking fur on the inside. Overall, nothing immediately makes you uncomfortable.

You don't know what gives you the confidence for your next comment you blurt out though.

"Dont you have any toys?" You ask him bluntly. "Like, for yourself? Or do you just.. use your partner's body for stuff?" You wonder, and he looks at you with a sharp gaze, a smirk growing on his lips.

"I wouldn't mind using your body, that's for sure." He flirts, leaning his head a bit to the side. "Why would I need toys if I've got you?" He fakes innocence as he asks that question without expecting any answer-

And for a moment, you don't give one.

But something about his flirty comment bothers you. Maybe because you hear someone else in your head again- all the men who've degraded you over the course of time.

Your ex. Your friends. Your father. You hear them laugh yet again like you're pathetic and worth nothing.

"I don't want to be used." You deny with a flat tone, and it's clear from the slight change in his eyes that he's now on high alert at your every word spoken by mouth and body language, so he can figure out what happened to change your mood like that. "I don't just want to be.. a toy you get bored off and toss away at some point just to pick it back up once you're interested again." You say, drawing a clear line.

You're not sure how he might react to this. You didn't want to make a statement like that, but you can't mask the truth. You really are scared of getting hurt at the end of this- you don't want him to just play around and then let you go.

You don't want to go. You want to stay-

You want him to want you to stay.

He says your name to gain your attention, voice low and steady, horribly gentle- and it makes your eyes sting as you realize that this is the first time a man has ever spoken in such a tone to you. He notices the way your eyes begin to gloss over- and it hurts him too, the fact that you're hurting.

"This isn't just something fun to me. I think I might not have made it clear." He says, staying away from you as to not invade your little bubble you're in,eating you have your safety. "I don't know what happened to you in the past to be so full of distrust towards anything good offered to you-" He sighs, running a hand through his hair. "-but I promise you, this isn't just a game to me."

"Then what is this." You say quietly, scared. "I'm scared that we're not on the same page here and that we're walking down to entirely seperate paths." You complain pitifully with your back hunched over and head hanging low.

"That's because we are." He chuckles softly. "I'm trying to hold your hand here so we don't lose each other- but you're not holding it." Jungkook offers.

"I don't understand-" you shake your head, when as you look up again, his face is right in front of yours, eyes looking at your lips.

"Then let me help you." He hums towards you, before his lips press onto yours.

And your body freezes.

Because he's never kissed you like this before- tender, calm and without any lust in it whatsoever. In fact, your realize only now that you've never been kissed without any hidden intentions or something to gain in mind. This kiss is soft, it's no words needed, it's love confessed in physical form.

You've never been kissed like this.

Ever.

[starsreminisce]

You know what I think is overlooked? Elain's curiosity about Prythian. I can only find a handful of essays that delve deep into this trait. What are your thoughts on curious Elain?

I love curious Elain! I actually think it's a defining part of her personality that she's just waiting for a chance to explore. She asked Azriel what it felt like to fly, and she also asked Amren about shapeshifting.

Elain, to my surprise, held Amren’s gaze. Amren said after a moment, “Are you asking out of curiosity for my past, or your own future?” The question left me too stunned to even reprimand Amren. The others, too. Elain’s brow furrowed before I could leap in. “What do you mean?” “There’s no going back to being human, girl,” Amren said, perhaps a tad gently. “Amren,” I warned. Elain’s face reddened further, her back straightening. But she didn’t bolt. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I’d never heard Elain’s voice so cold.

There are many ways to interpret the passage above. Some believe it hints at Elain wanting to go back to being human, while others think it suggests hidden shapeshifting abilities. Personally, I've always interpreted it as Elain simply trying to make conversation with Amren, given her reaction to Amren's questioning. If she were trying to hide something, her body language would have betrayed her. To me, it's another way of showing how she and Lucien are similar when confronted, but that's beside the point.

I feel like this curiosity was something Papa Archie fostered in her. Feyre mentioned that he bought and traded a Lapis Lazuli pendant, but Feyre was more interested in the myrrh and figs Papa Archie snuck for her. This was seen again in ACOSF when Feyre tried to get Nesta interested in Papa Archie's dealings, but Nesta was more focused on finding matches.

It makes me feel like Papa Archie does his best to involve his daughters with his business and I feel like Elain would end up being more exposed to this than Feyre and Nesta would have been.

Elain is Papa Archie's princess. She wanted to travel and was excited to hear about the tulip fields, and I'm positive it's because she'd heard stories about his travels and dealings. We see how close they were in ACOTAR, how long she grieved for him, and how often she visited his grave in ACOSF. Nesta might have pointed out that Elain's imagination stretched no further than the tulip fields, but it's not the first time she's been wrong in her assessment of Elain. Cassian even pointed out that Elain is not the dog Nesta described her to be.

Elain is well-liked by many people, and I feel like her natural curiosity is what lends itself to this. We see this when Elain and Feyre are out shopping and find the black tapestry—Elain asks if the weaver made it, why it wasn't taken down, and about the silver thread. Earlier on that page, she also talked to Feyre about the importance of gift-giving, so she must have asked someone to gain that insight.

We also see this when Elain wanted to learn how to make bread in ACOWAR and how involved she was with her own garden, literally and figuratively digging deep into it, as she eagerly discussed it with Feyre.

Also, for what it's worth, one of my absolute favorite tropes is when the MMC has to "cat wrangle" the FMC, and I can definitely see Elain wandering about and Lucien having to chase her down. But I want any and all the reasons for Lucien to toss her over his shoulder like she weighs nothing.

But yeah, I know one of the main arguments is that Elain hasn't rejected the bond because she doesn’t know how to, and I feel like that's false. She absolutely knows how and is choosing not to. I also think her curiosity will end up involving mating bonds and how that will play a part in her story, exploring what makes Feysand's, Nessian's, Tamlin's parents, Rhysand's parents, Kallias and Viviane's, Alis's sister's, and perhaps most importantly, LoA and Helion's bonds different and similar from her own with Lucien.

I hope this was insightful! Thank you again for asking!

[writingquestionsanswered]

I'm honestly rather new to writing.

English isn't my first language but I've been pretty much teaching the language to myself through interacting with other English speakers and so on.

I feel like I'm missing a lot of words in my vocabulary that could lift a story up to a better level of reading.

And, probably my biggest problem, I don't know how and where to start writing. How to come up with a plot or how to find inspiration. I'm incredibly motivated but I feel like I don't know where to start.

Since I want to write horror, as it's probably the thing I read and watch the most, I bought a few English horror books to study the ways of writing, words and plot build up. I also started watching analog horror Videos on YouTube to improve my plots yet I often feel like my head is empty despite all those attempts at improving.

I know this is a lot and I'm really sorry for it, but is there any way I could genuinely try and get more into writing as well as to improve the things I mentioned above?

Want to Write But Head Feels Empty

I want to start by saying I never would have guessed English wasn't your first language if you hadn't told me. You have a better grasp on it than a lot of native speakers, so I don't think you have to worry a whole lot about your vocabulary. You're not further behind in that sense than most other new writers. You can check out my posts Improving Vocab and 10 Tips for Improving Your Grammar Vocab for help with that, though.

Since where you're really struggling is with coming up with ideas and plots, what I would recommend is starting with writing prompts. You can find writing prompts all over--on tumblr, various web sites and forums, and even in books. If you Google "horror writing prompts" a ton of options come up.

Writing prompts are a great way to ease yourself into writing when you're struggling to come up with ideas and prompts. Much like fan-fiction (which is another option I'll get to in a minute), writing prompts are almost like training wheels for writers. They let you do the actual writing without having to worry about the initial ideas. And prompts are super flexible... you can interpret them figuratively or literally, you can combine multiple prompts together, or use what you like from a few different prompts. Whatever works for you. The key is to just open your mind and let it carry you wherever it wants to. Don't stress about it being good or making sense. You're not worried about quality or form, just taking those ideas and forming them into *something*. (And, side note: there are also plot generators that will give you more than just a writing prompt, so that's worth trying, too.)

I do also want to address fan-fiction as being another great way to practice writing when plots and ideas escape you. Since you want to write horror, think of a favorite horror movie, TV show, book, or video game and write a story set in that world. Flesh out a scene or moment that you liked that didn't go far enough in canon. Give a character a different moment or ending. You can even create an original character and drop them into the story to see what happens. Once again, this allows you to focus on the actual writing without having to start from scratch with ideas.

I hope something here works for you! ♥

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[loremaster]

rain code dlc thoughts

watched em all (spoilers obviously)

desuhiko:

can't believe this guy literally tried flirting with a child. he has gone unchecked for too long. we need to beat him up

enyne is good. i would love to see her in a cool thief outfit

not worth $5

fubuki:

the interactions between the detectives were cute. but i wish she'd gotten a chance to shine more on her own

it was kind of aggravating how slow they solved the mystery though. all that wondering about what the numbers could possibly mean... y'all the die was right there

not worth $5

halara:

kind of a shame that this one was the only actual investigative one. it was great!!! i liked the mystery setup and i liked figuring out how the culprit pulled it off even if the identity of the culprit was obvious the moment he showed up

"Good girl, Sugar" lololololol

good to know halara can be bought with cats instead of shien. love that yakou's totally onto their shit

and the cat they have a picture of is REAL!!! IT'S NOT A RANDOM JPG FROM THE INTERNET (WHICH I HAD ASSUMED)

worth $5

vivia:

i love how before it came out we were all like "please... one conversation with yakou... even just a mention of him would be okay" and then we got hit with a flaming rainbow fist #LoveWins

vivia all like "i wish i had something in this world to care about" and yakou literally forcing open the doors to his cold dead heart in response

the way he keeps flashing back to all the little things yakou has done to care for him... vivia you can't deny the truth anymore. you can't run from these gay thoughts

fellas is it gay to be another man's reason for living? (only if you share an umbrella)

for those who don't know, sharing an umbrella is like the most romantic thing you can do in japan. the only way this could have been more explicitly textually gay is if one of them pointed out how beautiful the moon was.

where's my Melt amv

'i'll enjoy the scenery along the way' *yakou seductively swaying his hips back and forth* HELLO???????????????????????

i hope after that is when vivia finally agrees to that dinner date

honestly up until now i've been very attached to the idea of vivia being head over heels for yakou the whole time and yakou not ever really noticing but now???? my god. this chief really can bisexual

speaking of bi i'm also not opposed to the idea of vivia/ryo... them both being like 'i'm interested in you' 'i'm interested in you too' oh are you now? hmmmm...

and they were both ghosts (oh my god they were ghosts)

I was saying to my friends while we were playing it that it makes sense the first suicide was 5 years ago, before the blank week incident... because otherwise she wouldn't have been a ghost at all, just a walking corpse

loved that line btw. 'all humans are just walking corpses' good news vivia, you're among peers here in kanai ward

worth $5. i mean technically since vivia/yakou dlcs are bundled together (gaaaay) it only cost $2.50 so it's extra worth it.

the amount of fanfiction that will inevitably come out of this is worth way more than $5

yakou:

his hips still do the little wiggle even as a zombie. can't slay the sashay away <3

him thinking of all the other detectives.... UUU....

yuma's flashback is from ch5 after yakou's already dead (but clearly there's still enough of him left...)

desuhiko's... is it from the dlc? idk. he said "i won't cause any problems" and then went on to cause many problems

halara's scene from the dlc is clearly a moment that made a big impression on yakou LMFAO... i mean if halara nightmare sat in MY chair it would make an impression on me too :flushed:

fubuki's i'm pretty sure is from ch.4 as yakou is dying on the floor?? he must have felt so bad, hearing her cry so much while he was fading away and couldn't do anything about it... his last moments UUUUUU

vivia gets the FUCKING aforementioned umbrella scene. sad wet cat man. learning to accept kindness and finding something (someone) worth living for... the exact moment vivia falls in love with him lmfao. and this is the moment that sticks out in yakou's zombie brain. seeing someone in need and actually being able to reach out and help them (for once). ;_;

and then SHE!!!!!!! SHEEEEEEEEEE

i shrieked when i saw her

mad she STILL doesn't have a name but oh man. i love her. i mean i already loved her when i saw the labcoat + turtleneck combo but the GLASSESSSSSS. and her VOICE AARGGGHHH they picked the perfect va for her

She must've given him the glasses while she was still alive, since he's the one wearing them in The Photo. good call, he looks naked without them

and now we really understand why yakou is as pitifully broke as he is, because he can't bring himself to make the corrupt choice that screws over innocent people for the sake of money. love that for him. he suffers so much for the sake of his city

very funny that he couldn't recognize his childhood friend (i'm assuming she recognized him immediately from across the room lmao). love the idea that she's trans. they're t4t your honor

she asked the most useless man to be her bodyguard but we all know who's protecting whom lmao

i feel like she must have been the one who proposed to him. or at least knowingly coaxed him into it haha

AND THE BADGE... UUUUUU.... and her ghost led him to it.... she had such an important job to do...

need to see vivia talk to her now. ghost 2 ghost communication. yakou simp 2 yakou simp

i think she would tell yakou to go kiss that goth boy silly

and most importantly... the medicine. the research... her dream lives on... i thought it was stupid that makoto literally cancelled everything about the homunculus research - sure they didn't need to make any more but how about research into alternate diets? or uv protection beyond like. sunscreen. WHAT ABOUT HER RESEARCH MAKOTO. PLEASE

so the existence of a possible cure for zombie homunculus begs the question... what's next for yakou? we thought his story was done but turns out it's far from yakouver, bitches. he's coming back one way or another.

what will he do with this magical macguffin - bring it to somewhere they can analyze it and duplicate it, or just take the pill himself? how complete is this untested theoretical cure? will yakou Come Back Wrong? is he gonna struggle to speak? (though that'd be a waste of kaiji tang)... is he gonna struggle with the urge to, you know, eat human flesh? i think that would be pretty hot cool

of course there's the chance it won't work at all. or will just straight up kill him, speedrun to reuniting with dead wife

definitely worth $5. or $2.50.

but at the same time since it actually does continue the main plot of rain code in an interesting way (or hint at it) i think they should bundle it with the main game instead of vivia's dlc

i mean if i had it my way they'd ALL be free but... i get it. they gotta gauge popularity somehow (and pay the devs/vas for extra work)

anyway. i should be working on homework but no. this game has absolutely ruined me

[recurring-polynya]

@fluffnflightillustrations is always asking me for pie crust tips and I never know what to do say because I just..do it. I am there and the food processor is there, and then it is pie crust. Anyway, I was making a pie today and I decided to document the process for posterity.

This recipe is based on J. Kenji Lopez-Alt's food processor piecrust recipe. (he was the same guy who invented the vodka pie crust method but doesn't own the copyright to it, so he can't ever talk about it. Anyway, this one is fine). I've made it a couple of times a year for, I don't know, over a decade.

Here are some facts about pie crust to keep in mind:

Flakiness is caused by pockets of butter surrounded by flour. That's the goal here.

Every pie crust recipe in existence includes dire warnings about how it will turn into particle board if you put in too much water. In one sense, yes, the goal is to use as little water as possible. On the other hand, if you're having trouble getting it to come together, just add some damn water. Every homemade pie crust I have ever made was a million times better than a store-bought pie crust, even if I did add 2T.

If your pie crust comes out bad or you don't notice a difference between store bought and homemade, there is no shame in store bought pie crusts! Life is about figuring out what is worth it to do from scratch and what isn't and that varies from person to person.

I am not a baking expert, I am just a girl who tries stuff s

HERE'S MY METHOD:

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups (12.5 ounces; 350 grams) all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons (25 grams) sugar

1 teaspoon (5 grams) kosher salt

2 1/2 sticks (10 ounces; 280 grams) unsalted butter (kept in fridge), cut into 1/4-inch pats

6 tablespoons (3 ounces; 85 milliliters) cold water

tl; dr version: 1. Combine two thirds of flour with sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse twice to incorporate. Spread butter chunks evenly over surface. Pulse until no dry flour remains and dough just begins to collect in clumps, about 25 short pulses. Use a rubber spatula to spread the dough evenly around the bowl of the food processor. Sprinkle with remaining flour and pulse until dough is just barely broken up, about 5 short pulses. Transfer dough to a large bowl. 2. Sprinkle with water then using a rubber spatula, fold and press dough until it comes together into a ball. Divide ball in half. Form each half into a 4-inch disk. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before rolling and baking.

✨Verbose Version✨:

Getting Ready to Get Ready The first thing I do is measure out the water in a glass measuring cup and stick it in the freezer.

Next, I cut my butter my butter into pats and spread them out on a plate and stick those in the freezer, too.\

You're just trying to get everything cold, not freeze it. This should probably take about 10 minutes? I take this opportunity to clean up my work area and get out my food processor.

Okay, Let's Do It Here's my food processor. It is big and beautiful and I got it for free because a friend of mine who liked to buy himself things moved across the country and didn't want to take it. I think fondly of him whenever I use it.

Combine two thirds of flour (I did 9.5 oz) with sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to mix it all up. Did I mention that I always bake by weight? You should always bake by weight.

Spread butter chunks evenly over surface, and pulse. I do this in a 3-4 rounds because I want the butter to get evenly covered in flour and not stick to other butter chunks. I toss a few in, pulse a few times, toss a few more, until they're all in there.

At this point, the recipe says "Pulse until no dry flour remains and dough just begins to collect in clumps, about 25 short pulses." First off, it takes a lot more than 25 for me. Second, it never really begins to collect in clumps, it just gets kinda sandy. It doesn't matter, just move on.

Use a rubber spatula to spread the dough evenly around the bowl of the food processor. Sprinkle with remaining flour and pulse until dough is just barely broken up, about 5 short pulses. Transfer dough to a large bowl.

Sprinkle with water then using a rubber spatula, fold and press dough until it comes together into a ball. I drip in some water, fold and press for a bit, drip in some more, fold and press again, etc. At first, I try to use the spatula (and not my hands) as much as possible. Towards the end I switch over to using your hands. It takes a while to start sticking together, but it will! Just keep pushing on it!

According to Kenji, you should not need to add any more water. I almost always need to add more water. You can put additional water in the freezer, if you want, but I just use room-temp. Today, it took 1 extra T. To be honest, I probably didn't need to, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Divide ball into two. If I am making a double pie crust, I split them unevenly, because the bottom crust needs to be bigger than the top. Today, I'm making a pecan pie, which just needs a single crust, so I'm dividing it into half and saving one of the halves for later.

Form it into a rough circle and flatten. I wrap it loosely in plastic, and then roll it on the edge like a wheel, and flatten it further so I get a nice disk.

Refrigerate at least 2 hrs and up to 3 days. (or you can freeze for up to 3 months) That's the end of part one, part two will continue after the chilling.

[weaselandfriends]

in your opinion do there exist any ambitious fiction writers active today with interesting/good prose? other than you ofc :). re: your recent post i'm trying to think of plausibly ""great"" recent novels and there's i guess. the pale king (dfw [dead] 2011), middle c (gass [dead] 2013), against the day (pynchon [dead, for all we know] 2006). i think in the past few years the only long-form fiction i've been reading is yours which is yknow a deeply embarrassing thing to admit

by the way speaking of dfw have you noticed how modern cannibals (bavitz 2017) is like westward the course of empire takes its way (dfw [dead] 1989) in that theyre both antimetafictional(??) road trip stories written about (in response to? in the margins of...) another metafictional work (homestuck [hussie 2016], lost in the funhouse [barth (dead[!]) 1968]) and then the author of said other metafiction shows up as a character at the end of the road trip. which i think is a neat connection but maybe doesn't mean anything. oh i suppose dfw is namedropped in modern cannibals as well ("David Foster Wallace killed himself, you should consider it too" :/) anyways i don't think i ever bought into the whole new sincerity thing, i think it's basically fine to just dick around with cute formal experiments forever, masturbate fearlessly to death as you say, as the main character of デデデデdestruction says, i forget her name. idk if you'd agree. you seem to write a lot of characters who try to pose an alternative and then end up not getting what they want.

It's a dire state, I'd say. Anything past the 2666 cutoff that I'd even entertain as possibly of interest was written by an ancient author at the end of their career, like the late works of Pynchon or McCarthy (or Pale King, as you mentioned). Authors who became big at a time when literature still had cultural reach and simply persisted into a time when it no longer did.

Even ignoring the question of great prose, what works since 2666 have even been culturally notable, penetrating a broader cultural awareness and enduring even the brief span of time since their publication until now? The Road? Knausgaard's Struggle? Are there any other candidates? Even if we extend this question to just pop culture, after publishers went all in on the YA model, the stream of books that reached phenomenon level dried up in the early 10s after Twilight and Hunger Games. Has anything been written in the past decade to suggest literature isn't a culturally moribund art form in the anglosphere?

It's a meme that people always think art is worse today than it used to be, but with film, no matter how many slop Marvel movies there are, you can point to great, ambitious, culturally-penetrating films that came out recently: Parasite, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Oppenheimer, etc. Video games? AAA might be in a death spiral (and even there, you get stuff like Mario Odyssey or God of War) but there's some new adored indie game every year. Music? It might vary genre to genre, but there are songs coming out today, artists active today, that will be remembered 30 years from now. Can you really say that about any book from the past 10 years? How many books written in the past 10 years do you think the average person could even name? Maybe I'm overly pessimistic. Do keep in mind I'm someone who mostly reads literature written by dead people. My perspective might be skewed.

If I did have to point to anyone writing recently who might be worth reading - and I wouldn't call either of these authors great, just worth reading - I'd point to Marlon James (Brief History of Seven Killings) and Ottessa Moshfegh (My Year of Rest and Relaxation). These are mild endorsements.

There's more interesting stuff being written online, authors who show promise. Nostalgebraist is the first I'd point to, a lot of sharp ideas and with every work he seems to be figuring out his game more and more. He also has some impressive prose passages, which are usually missing from even the ambitious and thematically interesting web fiction I've read. Almost Nowhere was particularly good, I wrote an essay on it somewhere in this blog. I've been really impressed by Farnham's Questing Beast in terms of prose. Most of the other webfic I'd recommend would be more for its ideas and thematic ambition than its prose. For instance, I love Alexander Wales' Worth the Candle (unfortunately stubbed recently for an actual publication), but I would describe its prose as Sandersonian.

Regarding Westward, I've actually only read DFW's long fiction - Broom, Infinite Jest, and Pale King. Long fiction is certainly my interest, I'm not overly fond of short stories, especially not in the contemporary milieu of disposable entertainment and brief, gimmicky, unambitious literary fiction.

[chososdiscordkitten]

⋆˚｡⋆୨ About Me ୧⋆˚｡⋆

Fun Facts:

I use they/them pronouns!!

I'm hispanic!! I used to have it in my welcoming page but I just noticed it isnt anymore!!

I'm a libra!!

I'm on the chunkier side, fuller figured, plus size- whatever :)

I only bought a laptop to start writing fanfics. (a very expensive investment but 100% worth it)

my favorite movies are, American Psycho, Gone Girl, Someone Great, nd DeadPool :D

I'm asexual!!! (but u write smut?) yes I do! I just find lines on paper attractive rather than irl people.

Questions:

How long have you been writing? Officially, since last years horny thanksgiving around 2 am. I just couldn't stand how full my brain felt and had to write it and post. But technically, I've been writing fics in my brain for years. Like, I have an actual archive in my brain of all the fics i've mentally written since I was 9. I still remember them all. Yet I can't remember what I ate yesterday, funny huh. A handful of physical ones for my friends (I found writing on my phone so fucking annoying ໒꒰ ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ ꒱১

Why don't you follow back/turn on dms? (／≧ω＼) embarrassing but wtv, I'm a very nervous person when it comes to 1 on 1 conversation..? idk if I come off that way in my posts, but I've had my fair share of online friendships/ irl friendships that ended... not great. so instead of doing that again, I'd rather protect my peace and not even try. I luv talking to people through posts nd asks though!! I just get vv anxious and scared (?) when I have to talk to new people in private. I wish I could speak to people on 1 on 1, but it just gives me unnecessary anxiety that makes me want to throw up.

Why tag your stuff with 'chubby reader' if it mentions nothing physically other than r! privates? So people who are on the chunkier side, (like I am) know I wrote a piece with their body in mind. Always, always I will write my stuff with a fuller figured body in mind (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

Will you ever do a face reveal? No probably not. I'd much rather be a faceless entity on here than an actual person. I use spectacles, if that helps picture me better lol

Why the name 'Ten'? I spent the first 3 months on this app as a nameless person, I debated using my irl nickname, and realized my irls could find me just on that. But then I heard 'Ten - Dani Flow' and I loved it soooo much. In Spanish 'ten' means 'here' which I think is vv funny, since I come on here nd im just like 'here, take it.' when I post fics. Plus, it's also 3 letters like my irl nickname (⁀ ᗢ ⁀)

Why is that pic the banner of your pinned post? I remember when I made my pinned, I knew there had to be like- a pic on top. but there wasn't any that called out to me that were 'aesthetic' -so I chose that picture because, growing up I always wanted to run a semi successful fanfic blog. thus 'I used to dream about times like these' its a lil funny thing that makes me laugh every time I see it, cause it doesn't match with the theme of my blog lol

[gaviicreates]

Sunday Stitchin'

Today I wanted to do a check-in, since I am due in providing an update. It deserves to be more of a WIP Wednesday because I am deep in juggling all of my many projects. Except it's Sunday on my side of the planet, so...

The active WIP count is up to 6, with 2 projects in each of my three crafts.

Tunisian Crochet: 2 Knit: 2 Crochet: 2

Crochet has taken more of a backseat this week. I've got what I am calling my palate cleanser doily in off white. I tend to work on it whenever I am bored with the repetition in my other projects. Since each row is different, the doily works a bit like putting puzzle pieces together. The chevron scarf from my bingo is the other crochet project, and while I have worked on it some this week, I will admit I got annoyed at the weaving in of ends this last round. So even though I finished this section, I haven't been eager to rinse & repeat quite yet.

In the knit world, I've finally started to figure out the magic loop technique. I hadn't shared what I was learning it for - eventually I want to feel comfortable enough to attempt socks again, but for now I was working it with a fingerless mitts pattern with worsted weight yarn. My first pair of mitts I am so pleased with, and they were well worth the initial awkward struggle of magic loop. The variegation in the yarn was spiraling upward until I started increasing around the thumb, so in the end it does look jarringly inconsistent. I love them though. I immediately went out and bought yarn to start some more, as I decided this is going to be the holiday pattern this year. So my current knit projects are two more pairs of the same mitt pattern.

MVP of this week is Tunisian Crochet.

At my LYS knit night, I worked the chevron scarf in Tunisian Crochet which is going to be a gift around the holidays as well. This is the one I had to frog back 11 inches after missing a stitch I didn't notice until later. This past week, I finally worked it back up to where I was before the frogging, so this felt like a huge accomplishment. It currently can drape over my neck, but not wrap, so I still have a bit to go - and I personally like my scarves on the longer end. It's fingering weight, I think I've mentioned before, so by the end this will truly have been a labor of love.

Finally - and pretty spontaneously - yesterday I decided I was going to try to make the Aruba Tunic by Toni at TL Yarn Crafts in preparation for our beach vacation coming up. For clarity, I will be there this time next week, so I went ambitious with my deadline, but I also didn't have a lot of time to plan. The actual trip was also a fairly recent addition to the calendar. I figure, if I don't actually finish beforehand this isn't a bad idea for a vacation project while away.

I'm still going to give it a solid college try.

I drove over to JoAnn's, picked some colors, compared dye lots, repicked colors, and then repicked them again, triple checked dye lots, and I've been working on the first panel of the tunic all last night and today. As of this evening, I'm at row 23/26 of this panel, and then I will be halfway.

I am using the recommended Coboo for this project, and the colors I selected are Denim and Taupe.

[sillysnack]

i've been listening to bad idea right? on loop for so long i feel like calling an imaginary ex

kusuo sometimes choosing a random friend in 2-3 to tune into their thoughts when he's bored in class. sometimes, he switches from friend to friend, like stations on the radio.

first, it's mikoto.

ahhh, those earrings i bought were totes worth it! the store was so cute, too! i should bring chiyopipi sometime and buy her something...

kusuo isn't surprised, he's heard mikoto babble on (mentally and verbally) about some new boutique she found on previous occasions.

he continues to listen to mikoto's thoughts, the mention of his name piquing his interest.

kusuo, too! bedazzling those weird antennae of his was so fun! i wonder if i could convince her to pierce her ears... how much coffee jelly would that take?

kusuo purses her lips. i know who i'm avoiding after class.

next was chiyo. her thoughts aren't all that unordinary, kusuo's taken note of her earlier mundanity from the start of the school year. this stopped when she started to see him differently.

kaidou looks so cute today... kokomi, too– huh? what? i don't like kokomi, do i? she's only a friend–!?

kusuo quickly tunes out of chiyo's thoughts, he's heard her get a mini-crisis about her attraction to kokomi multiple times. he thinks, you'll figure it out soon. good luck, yumehara. he looks at the teacher, bored. the class is relatively silent, with the exception of the few whispers of confused students, or the scratching of pen against paper...

it's calm. no shenanigans... yet.

mmmmmmm just needed to write something small before actually writing..

[sipsoftea]

I finally got bg3 and now i can draw for it without feeling like a fake fan :D so some first thoughts are in order I think.

1. I'm head over heels for gale. I really thought I'd be an astarion or a karlach kinda gal, and don't get me wrong, i am, but I fell in love with gale the moment I pulled him out of the portal and he immediately started on a rant giving me all the tadpole lore he had available.

2. I cried over how frickin sweet and compassionate karlach is. *spoilers* I don't remember her exact words, but when I told her about how gales ex wants him to blow himself up for her "forgiveness" karlach was so aggressively compassionate, saying something along the lines of "any God who tells you to blow yourself up, is no God worth worshipping" and I love her so so so much, for her compassionate wisdom and for who she is as a person.

3. The music is actually frickin incredible. I hadn't heard any of the music before I bought the game, I assumed it was good because games like that usually have a big emphasis on music, but goodness gracious, I wasn't ready for it to knock my socks off like that. genuinely breathtaking.

4. I don't like to swear, but fuck death shepherds. they are the most obnoxious freaks I've ever had the displeasure of coming across, I hope they step on Legos and trip into the fiery pits of hell, where they'll be forced to fight their own kind without the use of their own magic.

5. Scratch is the best boy. I would die for him.

6. I don't want to hate on anyone's choices in favorite characters, but I cannot stand shadowheart. I'll probably be eating my words once I get to know her better, but I sincerely wish she'd shut up about her goddess. I'm currently in the middle of doing shar's gauntlet, and she keeps bringing up the fact that she was "meant to be here", and that "shar must favor her somehow". Like, bestie... that can't possibly be a good thing. From my understanding, most of the gods in this game are actually trash, like dumpster fire levels of horrid. Like mystra asking gale to kill himself for her forgiveness, or whatever tf the absolute is, or shar taking peoples memories and lives if they stay in her shadow realm without a light source for too long. And I don't want to victim blame or anything. I think she mentioned she was raised in the church, so I imagine all this was forced into her head from a very young age. It just wears on me a little, that's all.

7. Everyone wants to get with me EXCEPT gale. I love him to bits, but man he's a challenge to romance ((and i would like to say, i really do love the platonic love my tav and gale have for each other, it's really sweet)). Shadow heart invited me to drink with her at the party, I ended up having to load a save because I'm terrible at rejection and I didn't want to romance her.

Next, I went to camp and the game immediately forced me into a dance cutscene with wyll, I once again had to load a save because I'm terrified of rejection. And gale is just like "wow, you're such a good friend :))" and I'm more than happy to be his friend, don't get me wrong. I just want to cuddle my wizard under the stars while we talk about our favorite interests, is that so much to ask?

But over all, this game is incredible. I've been playing nonstop for the last three days or so, it's really been a joy. Now I just need to figure out how to draw all of my favorite characters so I can post a bunch of scribbles >:))

[mikeys-jellycat-selection]

Jellycat Review: Wilf Wolf! 🎀

I remember the first time I saw this guy, when he was released. I knew immediately that I had to have him... His little fangs... His precious paws... his chunky rump... It was love at first sight for me with this delightful doggy, and he did not disappoint. He's the only plush I've ever bought two of.

The specs 🎀

Fur texture: 10/10

Wilf's fur is indescribable... it's soft and silky, almost like real rabbit's fur, and it's so long that it really bulks up his figure, giving him a super plump appearance without making him stiff. In fact, his fur is so soft that I find myself handling him very gently, as I'm terrified of ruining that amazing texture. In my experience, however, he's rather sturdy, has had minimal shedding, and is able to be cleaned with a machine (WILF HATES HOT DRYING MACHINES... AIR DRY OR FLUFF ONLY. Heat will ruin his texture. I learned this the hard way 😢) provided you treat him with EXTREME care. Overall, I'd say his fur has the best texture in the entire jellycat kingdom. The shorter fur on his face and paws is incredibly soft too, and has a nice curl to it...

Design: 10/10

Just look at him. He's so precious. What's not to love about this tubby little werewolf? He is literally shaped like a friend. His little nose and his precious fangs are a highlight, and his ears are so perky and fun to grab. Not to mention, his limbs are floppy! Floppy!! I enjoy giving him a good shake to watch him bounce around and fluff out... shake your wilf. You won't regret it.

Size: 10/10

His size is perfect, at W11" × H9" inches. He's big enough to fill out a hug, but not big enough to be an inconvenience when carrying. He's not very heavy, but the beans in his booty do give him some weight.

Accessibility:

I will never understand why they decided to retire this fellow. As one of the most popular jellycats (and for good reason), he is now even more sought out than he originally was. While his asking price was $45.00 usd, he's currently listed on the second hand market (as of 2/12/23) for anywhere from $75.00 to $180.00 usd... sad! While I think he's absolutely a wonderul, perfect, amazing, adorable, worthwhile purchase, I don't know if he's worth $200~ dollars... If you have the money and you want him (as you should), try to buy him for a reasonable price.

Overall 🎀

Wilf has earned the prestigious title of Mikey's Fav, and for good reason! He's well designed, has a great texture, and is the perfect size for even perfect-er hugs. Jellycat struck gold with this precious lad, and I'll never, ever forgive them for sending him to the shadow realm. If I had my way, every human being on earth would be equipped with a standard issue Wilf Wolf for emotional support. Mental illness rates would plunge. World peace would finally be achieved. Society would finally heal. I hope one day I can procure a THIRD Wilf Wolf, so I can keep one trapped in a prison of glass to forever remain perfect and pristine, and love the hell out of the other two.

Overall I give Wilfy a perfect 10/10 rating! I will now attach a picture of my personal Wilf Wolf.

[mermaidsirennikita]

hi! I've seen you recommend a couple books with this trope and it's one of my all time favorites, so can I ask - what are your recommendations for romances that have the "best friend's sibling"/"sibling's best friend" trope? thank you lots!

Sure! I think I mentioned The Earl I Ruined by Scarlett Peckham and The Duke in Question by Amalie Howard earlier; both are "best friend's wild little sister/uptight hero" books.

Ever Yours, Annabelle by Elisa Braden has a heroine in love with her brother's best friend from childhood, but they're separated after she causes him to have a serious accident that changes his life.

Scoundrel of My Heart by Lorraine Heath is a best friend's brother book, though the sister of the hero doesn't figure into it toooo much. The heroine is kind of the girl whose pigtails he likes to pull, if that makes sense, until suddenly they're very attracted to each other.

How to Marry a Marquess by Stacy Reid. I believe the hero is friends with heroine's brother first, but over time she becomes his best friend, and extremely angsty sexual tension sets in--she's a society girl who wants social approval and he's a society outcast with an illegitimate child he's raising, and he assumes she won't be okay with being outcast with him.

Sold to the Duke by Joanna Shupe is a novella that has a twist on the trope. The heroine's brother died, and she and her sister were left unable to fend for themselves. She enters into a virginity auction to get some cash, and her late brother's best friend, who lost touch and didn't realize shit was like that, happens to be there (not for the auction, I think). He buys her to ensure she won't have to sell her virginity, but she's like YOU BOUGHT ME, YOU TAKE ME lmao. Very hot.

The Wrong Marquess by Vivienne Lorret. Heroine is waiting on her childhood friend to propose to her as he promised he would, and makes friends with a new debutante. The debutante has a super overprotective older brother who assumes the heroine is using his sister, and they start a bickering thing that gradually gives way to attraction on his part. One of my favorite things in this book is that there's a moment where she can't finish her ice cream and he's like OH I'LL TAKE IT because he wants to like. Lick her spoon and taste the ice cream that MAY have touched her lips. Fucking insane lol.

Contemporary:

Deep by Kylie Scott. Brother-in-law's best friend, but he very much treats her as a little sister and it's DELICIOUSLY MESSY. The heroine's brother-in-law is in a band with his best friends, and he's very protective of the heroine, who's like this 21-year-old coed type. In the backdrop of the previous books in the series (all worth reading) she and the bass player (emotionally closed off, slutty, naturally) have had this friendship building where she's desperately trying to seduce him, and he's like "nooooope, you're off limits", like the kind of cliche I live for. Welp, one night in Vegas, shit happens, and it's awesome until immediately after he fucks up and she's like let's pretend this never happened... until six weeks later, girl realizes she's pregnant and the entire fucking band and their significant others and HIS DATE realize this in the most chaotic way possible. Cue oops baby plot. THE DRAAAAAMAAAAA.

[night-city-valentines]

It's the end of the Year, and I played a lot of games, here's my Top 5!

5 - Saints Row (2022)

I grew up with Saints Row The Third, and after SRIV kinda killed the series, I was a little bummed. This new reboot of the series is a return to form. Yes, it has been scaled back considerably from the insanity of the last two entries, but I see that as a given - its a reboot, they're testing the waters to see if there's still an interest in the franchise. For me, there absolutely is. Hopefully we see more Saints Row games soon.

4 - Cult of the Lamb

An incredibly charming and captivating game, Cult of the Lamb combines a management sim with a roguelike dungeon crawler, and it works perfectly. The artsyle is cute, which contrasts perfectly with the Lovecraftian abominations you encounter.

3 - Fortnite

Yeah, yeah, I know. Fortnite didn't come out this year, BUT this was the first time I properly got into it, after the addition of the Zero Build mode. Removing building means that you can pick it up and play a lot more casually - no more skyscrapers appearing when you take a single shot at an opponent. Super fun, and if you've never played Fornite before because you don't want to worry about being behind on building, its worth giving it a go.

2 - Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

Another series from my childhood with a banger entry this year, TSS let's you play through the stories of all 9 main Star Wars films. The gameplay is almost completely reinvented for this entry, and with the ability to explore planets, do side quests, and invest in skill trees for the different character types, it feels more like a Lego RPG than anything else.

Before my number 1, let's see some Honorable Mentions:

- Metal Hellsinger

A rhythm-FPS set in Hell with a heavy metal soundtrack, Hellsigner is incredible. What makes it a mention rather than a top 5 is the length. I wish it was longer, but as all the songs feature actual metal vocalists, I understand why the game is the length it is. Still! Hope to see Hellsinger 2 at some point!

- Pokémon Violet

Ah, Pokémon...you tried, ill say that. Violet is a testament against yearly releases and crunch, and its sad. It could have been so much better if Game Freak's devs had another year or so to work on the game, but alas. The loop of catching Pokémon is as fun as ever, if not more so with the lack of random grass encounters, and the story is actually pretty good. What lets it down for me is the overall lack of polish, and the fact that it feels like SUCH a Downgrade from Sword/Shield

- Final Fantasy XIV

I've never been one for MMOs, but when my boyfriend let me play on his account for a while, I was hooked. Truly the only reason this isn't higher is because I haven't put all that much time into it. But I WILL!

- Need For Speed Unbound

Sneaking in at the end of the year, NFS Unbound is tons of fun for a racer. I wouldn't go as far as to call myself a racing game fan, but I WOULD say that I love this game. Like FFXIV the only thing keeping this game down is the time I've spent with it - I only played the free trial of it, but if I end up getting the full version at some point I know I'll sink hours and hours into it.

Finally, my Number One Game of 2022 is...

ELDEN RING

I...hated Soulsborne games. I really did. I found them too challenging, too overwhelming. Then my boyfriend bought me Elden Ring. I figured, hey, I'll try it out.

Now I love Soulsbornes.

Elden Ring is the combined genius of Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R. R. Martin, coupled with Fromsoft's trademark combat system.

I have put over 200 hours into Elden Ring. I've completed the story twice. I've made 4 characters, and I STILL don't think I've found everything this game has to offer. Hell, I recently bought the strategy guides for it (which, by the way, requires two volumes to cover all of the content in Elden Ring).

If you like fantasy - try Elden Ring. If you like challenging combat- try Elden Ring. If you like exploring a beautiful world with a complex story - try Elden Ring. It won GOTY at the Game Awards for a reason.