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lonsdalewrite · 4 months

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2023 Writing Review + December Writing Summary

This was a very productive year! I actually entered A Summer with the Immortal in a pitch event (though nothing ended up coming of it), finished the first drafts of The Claws of the Ounce and The Gift of Gloves, and started two new projects. June and July were the two most productive months I've ever had!

This month, I had kind of bad writer's block so I didn't reach any of my goals. At least I got something done.

A summary of my current WIPs (for both December and the year as a whole) under the cut:

THE CLAWS OF THE OUNCE 🫀

FIRST DRAFT

Words written this year: 63,706

Total word count: 114,730

Date completed: July 31

SECOND DRAFT

Current word count: 25,400

Words written / added this month: 4,000

Current chapter: 7 out of 28

Snippet:

Three seconds of clicking scissors, and Ash’s whiskers lay in the sink. A delicate arrangement of silver threads over white porcelain, one crisscrossing over the other two. They looked like… Like nothing at all.

Notes:

A third of the words for the first draft were written during Camp NaNo.

I really like the way the second draft (kind of a rewrite lol) is going, even if it's slower than I expected.

Goal for January: Get to 30K. (Setting them really low this time.)

Goal for 2024: Start querying it.

THE GIFT OF GLOVES 🧤

FIRST DRAFT

Words written this year: 25,025

Total word count: 38,725

Date completed: August 20

SECOND DRAFT

Current word count: 4,275

Words written / added this month: 1,038

Current chapter: 2 out of 9

Snippet:

And then, like a lightning bolt crackling into the earth, a revelation came to her. The restlessness in her heart awakened and roared out in joy. She’d found something. By all the spirits of the world, she’d found something.

Notes:

This story just doesn't want to be written quickly. Progress was really slow this year again (apart from June, when I got a sudden burst of inspiration and wrote 7K for it).

Goal for January: Get to 10K.

Goal for 2024: I don't even know...

FOREST IN A SHADOW BOX 🦋

Date started: June 1 ("officially" - I wrote the prologue back in March)

Word count: 33,585

Words written this month: 2,045

Current chapter: Just finished 10 out of 25!

Snippet:

The moss-covered statue at the city’s border was a familiar face. (Well, a familiar torso and pair of legs, at least. Most of its upper half was too overgrown and eroded to really be knowable.)

Notes:

This is the sequel to A Summer with the Immortal, and tbh the reason why trying to get ASwtI trad-pubbed makes me nervous. I guess if ASwtI doesn't sell well enough for a sequel, I can always share FiaSB some other way...

Goal for January: Get to 40K.

Goal for 2024: Finish the first and second drafts.

THE MYSTERIES OF THE APRICOT SUN 🌇

Date started: October 3

Word count: 11,560

Words written this month: 2,755

Current chapter: Just finished 4 out of 32!

Snippet:

Darby spun on her heel and dashed between the two nearest palms. She accidentally bumped against one of them, and had to dodge the bird-catching tendril that flickered out of its crown with a dry shkt. Luckily, she managed to do so without losing any speed. Sorry, tree, for triggering your reflex. No food for you right now.

(I drew a different moment from this scene! Please look at it, I'm really proud of it.)

Notes:

Writing this story feels great, because I've had the seeds of it taking up space in my brain for a good while now.

Goal for January: Get to 20K.

Goal for 2024: Finish the first draft.

Tag list: @kirsten-is-writing @emwhyarentyouwriting @time-to-write-and-suffer @unstablewifiaccess @ashen-crest

#Annual Writing Review #Monthly Writing Summary #A Summer with the Immortal #Forest in a Shadow Box #Verdantland Trilogy #The Claws of the Ounce #The Gift of Gloves #The Mysteries of the Apricot Sun #writeblr #writers on tumblr #writing community #am writing #writing update

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tabletopbellhop · 6 months

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youtube

NEW: Cracking the code on the Cryptex. Check out our latest review on YouTube where we look at the new Cryptex from EscapeWelt. It features a six-character code you can personalize to making for a pretty cool and geeky way to give a gift.

#PuzzleBox #Cryptex #Review #Gift Box #Gifts for Geeks #Youtube

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dailymanners · 7 months

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Compliment someone on one of their personality traits

Write a handwritten card to someone to say thanks

Text a friend to share your gratitude for something they did for you

Leave a positive review online of a restaurant you like

Tell a friend what you love about their children

Compliment a photo someone posts on social media

Let someone cut in front of you in line

Introduce two people who you think would get along

Pick up trash on the ground and put it in the garbage

Compliment someone on their clothing or hair

Use old grocery bags to pick up dog poop you see on your neighbor's lawn

Shovel snow off the sidewalk in your neighborhood

Offer to mow the lawn for an elderly neighbor

Give up your seat on the plane to let a couple sit together

Talk to someone at a party that doesn’t seem to know anyone

Invite someone new in your town to a social event and introduce them to everyone

Invite a friend that you haven’t seen in a while out to lunch

Offer to pick up a friend at the airport

Reach out to an old friend to let them know of an experience you had with them that you value

Spend time with the elderly at a local retirement home

Offer to bring someone else's grocery cart back to the store

Keep an extra pen in your purse to give people when they need one

Put a positive note in a library book

Attend events that support your friends’ passions (like an art show, musical performance, etc…)

Donate unused items to charity

Bring snacks to the local fire station

Keep packs of toothpaste or packs of socks in your bag to give to homeless people

Post an uplifting photo on a friend’s social media

Compliment someone on something they’ve done or accomplished

Tell a parent that they’re doing a great job raising their kids

Bring or send your mother flowers

Bring a friend a small gift next time you see them

Buy a warm meal to give to a homeless person

Share an article, event, or other information with someone who might be interested

Help to connect a friend seeking a job to someone who has a job to offer

Help a neighbor bring in their groceries

Make dinner for your friend group

Compliment a neighbor on how nice their yard looks

Bring in the trash bins for your neighbor after trash has been picked up

Send an email to a former teacher to let them know how they impacted your life

Leave a thank you note in your mailbox for your mail carrier

Give a flower to a stranger

Buy a gift card to give to a stranger

Ofter to be there for a friend when they are struggling with something

Give bottles of water to people working outside on a hot day

Buy a sandwich for the next person in the lunch line

Leave a sticky note with a positive note somewhere public, like at a bus stop

Bring brownies to your next neighborhood association meeting

Scrape the ice off the car windshield of the car next to yours

Leave a positive comment on someone else's social media post, #ProsocialPost

Put coins in someone’s parking meter that is about to run out

Slow down to let someone merge in front of you in traffic

Be on time (don’t waste others’ time)

Hold the door open for the person walking behind you

Make a double batch of dinner so that you can give a meal to someone in need

Give directions to someone who is lost

Give an extra big tip when eating out

Practice compassion when someone else is struggling

Be self-compassionate when you’re struggling with something

Share veggies you grow in your garden with friends, neighbors, and family

Become an organ donor

Volunteer at the local animal shelter

Bring dinner to a friend who's just had a baby

Build a “little free library” box in your yard with books for everyone to read

#note that you don't have to do any of these #these are just ideas #if you wanna do a random act of kindness #which I think is a good idea :)

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mysillylittlegang · 1 year

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D8te Box - Date Night Subscription Box

Are you looking for ways to spice up your date nights or any night in general? If so you definitely have to take a look at D8te Box. More about this date night subscription box on the blog. #MySillyLittleGang

Get ready to spice up your nights with this date night subscription box! Keep reading to find out more about the D8te Box. D8te Box – Date Night Subscription Box Are you looking for ways to spice up your date nights or any night in general? If so you definitely have to take a look at D8te Box. This new monthly subscription delivers surprise date night boxes to couples’ doors. This date night…

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#gift idea #review #shopping #subscription box

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misslinala · 1 year

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daycourtofficial · 7 months

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Prophesize Me

Summary: Everyone finds out you and Azriel are mates before the two of you do.

Author’s note: I really love this concept, and I hope you guys do too!! 💕

“I would ask you how my niece is doing, however I have an inkling that she’s doing quite well, and will be better soon.”

Rhysand hated whenever Helion got like this. With all of Helion’s knowledge, occasionally he would like to speak in riddles. After receiving confused looks from Feyre and Rhys, Helion handed them a piece of paper, with the words,

“6 becomes 8,

Shadows dance in his wake,

Cobalt light, night skies,

Golden string ties”

Rhysand and Feyre look at each other, both looking incredibly confused, when Helion chirps in.

“My sister was loved by the Mother and the cauldron. When she had all 7 of her babes, the cauldron blessed each of them with a mate.”

Their eyes go wide, searching for you in the crowd of partygoers, and Feyre’s surprise makes her blurt out, “she has a mate?”

Helion chuckles. “Yes, she and her brothers all do. But none of them know who their mate is. Just that they have one somewhere. They were each blessed with a prophecy denoting the identity of their mate.”

He looks pointedly at the paper in Rhys’s hands.

“I started having suspicions when I visited you in Night a few weeks ago, so I went back and reviewed their prophecies and I think we can take an educated guess as to the subject of hers.”

All three of them look at you and Azriel, the two of you engrossed in conversation with one of your brothers.

“Six becomes eight. Azriel has two brothers, me and Cassian. She has six brothers already.” Rhys says, shock all over his face at knowing his brother, who deserves this so much, is going to get his mate. He’s almost vibrating with happiness.

“Do they know?” Feyre asks Helion.

“No,” Helion sighs, “The curse of the prophecy is that the subjects can’t know. If you talk to them about it, it’ll just sound like you’re speaking nonsense.”

“Could we tell Azriel?”

“My assumption would be if he were her mate, if you tried, it would just sound like nonsense. It could be a way to test the theory.”

Feyre and Rhysand couldn’t stop smiling at each other, speaking mind to mind.

“This is incredible. She’s wonderful, she’s adorable! We’ve known her for a while, we all like her, she’s already part of the family.”

“And we know her family! She’s related to Helion - whom we love dearly.”

“How the hell are we going to keep Azriel’s mate a secret from him?”

“How the hell are we going to keep Azriel’s mate a secret from Cassian?”

Cassian wasn’t a spymaster, but he always had a sixth sense when it came to knowing things about his friends. One look at Feyre and Rhys and he’ll know that they know something.

“Do you know what the golden string ties?” Helion asks, genuine curiosity on his face.

Feyre and Rhys look at each other, trying to recall a golden string. Feyre’s eyes go wide as she remembers, “I saw a box In her room a few days before solstice with a gold ribbon around it, but I never saw it in the pile of gifts.”

Rhys turns to her, “I saw Azriel carrying a tiny box with gold string around it a week ago. He wouldn’t tell me anything,” Rhys thinks for a moment, “and I don’t recall seeing them exchange gifts.”

Helion is interested in this - you confided in your uncle about most things, but your love life was not one of them. Helion loved gossip, but when it came to you, it wasn’t just fun gossip. It was your life.

“Solstice was just yesterday - if the prophecy is directly mentioning something that happened on Solstice, then if they are mates, the bond should snap any day now.”

The three of them continue watching you, Azriel, and one of your brothers converse, when Azriel says something that makes you and your brother howl with laughter.

“It can be hard knowing how things will turn out - prophecies are a deep interest of mine,” Helion says, watching you with a smile on his face, “it’s nice that this one will have a happy ending.”

Feyre and Rhysand kept the secret from Cassian for twelve hours, a brand new record for them. They were all standing in the kitchen of the house of wind, telling him what they knew. They weren’t too concerned with you and Azriel finding them because the two of you stayed behind in the day court for a few extra days.

When they told him, they honestly thought they had short-circuited him. He just kept going “her… and him… and her…” until eventually the biggest grin spread across his face and he lunged and pulled Feyre into a bone-crushing hug.

“I have to get the feelings out and she’s not here for me to do this to so I’m pretending you’re her!” He says, while spinning Feyre around while she giggles.

Once Cassian is done spinning, he sets Feyre down and looks at them and goes, “okay, so what do we do now? Any schemes?”

“Why are we scheming?” Feyre asks, a little wobbly from the spinning.

“Well we could lock them in a room together,” Rhys says, not answering his mate.

“We could send them on a dangerous mission together, and they’ll be so shaken by how close they come to death, BOOM, the bond snaps,” Cassian says animatedly.

Feyre looks at him, assessing him, “Cass, are you reading romance books?”

He stutters a little, “sometimes Nesta reads out loud so I can fall asleep more quickly.”

“Aww reading really is so boring to you it puts you to sleep,” Rhys coos, reaching over to pinch Cassian’s cheeks, “she reads you bedtime stories.”

“Anyway,” Cassian draws out, trying to draw attention back to the matter at hand, “what are we going to do about our little shadowsinger and our little princess of day?”

Cassian was asked to keep his mouth shut and tell no one. So naturally by the time the sun rose the next day, the entire inner circle knew, as did Cassian’s favorite barista and Rita.

“He’s going to be pissed you’re telling all of Velaris his private information, especially before he even knows it,” Rhys tells Cassian, in their war council like meeting.

“He won’t be pissed in the slightest - it’s going to snap any day and we won’t see them for months. Besides, he already struts around town with her, no one was going to be surprised at this,” Cassian says, and Feyre’s shocked his face doesn’t hurt from how hard he’s been smiling since he heard the news.

Cassian did have a point - tons of Velaris citizens had come up to Feyre to ask if the you and the spymaster were together, most feeling disappointed when she said no, none being brave enough to ask the shadowsinger himself.

Mor was buzzing with excitement, her guilt from leading Azriel on has dissipated since you entered their lives, but now even moreso that you’re his mate. She’s especially happy that that means you’ll likely become a more permanent resident in the night court. The inner circle adored you, but they were always afraid you’d eventually just go back to your home in the day court to be with your brothers and Helion.

“I mean, they’re still in day, so maybe the bond did snap, and we just won’t see them again until the spring!” Mor laughs, true excitement coming from her. “Is there a way to know about the bond long distance?”

“I like Cassian’s idea of sending them on a mission, send them to winter so they’ll have to snuggle for warmth,” Lucien, who happened to be one of your oldest friends, speaks up. Elain hits him on the chest, rolling her eyes at her mate.

“Oh oh oh,” Mor pipes in, “we get a male to hit on her, oooh that would really piss off Azriel.”

“He’s already going to be super territorial once the bond snaps, if that happens he genuinely might try to hide her away for years,” Rhys replies, knowing how territorial Azriel already was over you.

“What if we all just disappear for a few days? Leave the two of them here in the townhouse?” Elain says, and Lucien rubs her thigh.

The group considers it - most of them do have their own homes in the city, leaving you and Azriel mostly by yourselves in the townhouse, but the inner circle usually drops by throughout the day. Cassian alone probably comes by five times a day - even more when Nesta’s upset with him.

“None of us visit, and we can’t allow them to come visit us.” Feyre says.

“Just want to point out this was essentially the first idea I had of locking them in a room together,” Rhys grins.

The group continues arguing, with Elain’s idea being the frontrunner.

You and Azriel stayed in the day court for an extra night. You got incredibly drunk at the late solstice party with your family, and you also wanted to show Azriel around the day court palace.

You two spent most of the day in some of your favorite libraries - just the sight of one taking Azriel’s breath away. You two spent hours walking around the libraries, telling him about growing up here. You also showed him around the museums - noting to him one of the paintings that was donated by Feyre. You had joked that of course it featured Helion on his pegasus.

Now you were back in your private chambers, showing him your much less impressive personal library.

“Do you miss living here?” Azriel asks, the question on his mind since you all came to the party, after seeing how happy you were with your family.

“Mm, yes and no. I like spending a few weeks here out of the year, I love coming for holidays or just to visit, but it feels like a distant home, like I’m 9 years old,” you say, turning to face him, “I’ve traveled a good bit around Prythian, and honestly I never felt as at home as I do in Velaris.”

The confession hangs in the air. The unspoken words sitting on your tongue, not being brave enough to utter them - “I never felt at home until you.”

He can’t help the grin on his face as he says, “if I may, night court black suits you very well.”

Your cheeks flame as you reply, “it suits you very well, too.”

The two of you somehow closer than you were, only about a foot apart, when a knock shatters the moment. Azriel swears he hears a tiny groan from you as he steps away from you, looking over the shelves of your books, when one title catches his eye. As your attention is focused on the fae who came in to let you know that dinner is ready, he slips the book into his coat pocket.

The two of you had winnowed back to the townhouse, directly into your private chambers.

“Can I ask you about something?” Azriel looks at you, curiosity all over his face.

“Anything,” you reply, neither of you moving from the tight hold you had on each other while winnowing.

“Why do you own this?” As he says it, he pulls out a book that you received for Solstice from Amren, one you were especially trying to keep hidden, which is exactly why you brought it with you to leave in your library in the day court.

“Ilyrians: Pleasing a Partner with Wings?” He asks, reading the title. Your mouth is wide open, looking like a fish without water.

“There’s an inscription,” you reply, and Azriel can barely hear it. He’s a little concerned his teasing has gone too far, when he opens the inscription to find Amren’s handwriting.

“Sun Girl,

make a move on the shadowboy. Here’s a guide on how.

Lukewarm regards,

Amren”

Azriel was shocked that Amren would get involved in any of their love lives, much less yours. He didn’t even know if Amren liked you, as much as Amren can like anyone.

“Amren gave you a solstice gift?” Azriel asks. You nod, still hiding behind your hands in embarrassment.

“And she wants you to fuck me?”

You choke on air at his bluntness, “well - uh- I mean - yes but maybe like not in a casual way?”

He looks at you, taking in how clearly embarrassed you are at this gift, at his discovery of it.

“So not in a casual way?” He asks, loving how cute you are in this moment.

You look at your hands, you look around your room, for anything, really, when you say, “not um in a casual way, yes.”

“So you would fuck me in a non-casual way?” He asks, clearly enjoying watching you squirm through this conversation.

You pause, and Azriel’s again afraid he’s gone too far, when he hears you say, “yes.”

“Do you.. have feelings… for me?” He asks, none of his own feelings showing on his face.

You look up at him. Now or never, you think.

“Yes,” you say, looking him in the eye, “yes.”

He continues looking at you as he responds, “good.”

“Good,” you say, not sure what he means, but not wanting to ask.

“Good,” he says, and before you can say the same, he pulls your face into his. Kissing him was an experience for your entire body- you could feel his hands on your face, his body pressed against you, when you felt something in your chest go pop!

You stopped kissing him to look at him in shock, when he’s already smiling at you. “You know!” you shout, “you knew!”

He laughs at your reaction, taking a moment before telling you, “it snapped when we exchanged gifts. I uh needed a few days to process it.”

You nod, Azriel was not someone who took change well, and this was a big one. You can understand him taking a few days to tell you.

“Needed time to process it, but do you uh regret it?” You ask, trepidation coating your voice.

“Not at all. I just… never thought I’d have this. I didn’t want to start things off by saying or doing the wrong thing.”

You smiled at his thoughtfulness, feeling the warmth of the bond in his chest.

Rhys was no fool - he knew you two were in day and could return at any minute, so he shielded the room so if either of you came you wouldn’t be able to hear the discussion. He didn’t account for the fact that maybe you were already upstairs, and if you walked by and saw all of your friends gathered not making a noise, it would terrify you.

Which is exactly what happened.

They all heard you scream and turn to see you in the open doorway, Azriel’s shirt hanging off your body. Rhys starts to pull the shield down, wanting to make a crack at you wearing his brother’s clothes, when they’re all hit by the smell. It was so incredibly strong, they all were practically suffocated by it. It smelled like the early morning, when the moon kisses the earth, allowing for night to meet the day.

It all happened so fast, your scream, the shield coming down, Azriel winnowing in a defensive position after hearing your scream from upstairs, all of your friends screaming at the scent of the bond.

Azriel’s in front of you, ready to defend you, only to find Cassian charging at the two of you. He engulfs both you and Azriel in a hug, picking you both up and spinning you. You, in Azriel’s shirt, and Azriel, in his undershorts.

“It’s been like six hours, I thought they wouldn’t know until at least tomorrow,” you muffle into Cassian’s chest at Azriel, who huffs in response.

After what feels like a lifetime of spinning, Cassian sets you down, and you have to brace yourself on your knees to keep from throwing up.

“What are you guys doing here? In a shielded room?” You ask, hands still on your knees, and no one wants to meet your gaze, until Amren speaks.

“They discovered your prophecy, girl.”

Azriel looks to you, confusion on his face. You had honestly forgotten all about the prophecy - you didn’t know the contents, so you didn’t ever let yourself think of it.

You turn to Azriel, “my brothers and I have prophecies about who our mates are, but we can’t hear our own prophecies until they’re fulfilled. I never knew what it stated, just that I had a mate somewhere.”

“And you all heard it?” Azriel asks, looking around the room like everyone was a threat. If the smell didn’t give the bond away, Azriel’s hyper focus on his family as threats certainly did.

“Well,” Cassian interjects, “Helion told Feyre and Rhys, who told the rest of us.”

Nests hits his arm, “they told Cassian and he told the rest of us, big blabbermouth.”

“We just found out last night, and we were meeting to see if there was anything we could do about helping it snap, but it seems like that was a bit pointless.”

You look at Azriel, everything is so new, you have no idea how he would feel about being a pawn in your prophecy, much less about his family knowing something so important with you two being the last ones to know.

The room is still loud, Mor and Cassian found wine bottles and are popping them open. Everyone’s celebrating, while Azriel leans down and whispers to you.

“So, the mother made you for me,” he quirks his mouth into a grin.

“Actually, I’m three days older than you, so I think the mother made you for me,” you retort.

“Oh no, however will I go on? Being made for such a thing of beauty and brains?” He asks. Then he pauses, insecurity taking hold of him for a moment, “are you disappointed? I mean surely growing up knowing you had a mate, you dreamt up imaginary males whisking you away. How do I compare?”

You really take a look at him, a rare moment of vulnerability from him, as you consider a reply. “The males always whisked me away, off to foreign lands.” You look ahead at the chaos of the sheer joy your shared family is experiencing at the news. “You have brought me home.”

You grab his hand, rubbing your thumb across the back of it, hoping that that answer was enough for now. You have centuries to show that the imaginary males are nothing to the real thing.

#acotar fanfiction #azriel #azriel x reader #azriel x you #azriel fanfic #azriel fluff

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pseudowho · 2 months

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Thinking about being Higuruma Hiromi's workplace bestie.

Thinking about showing up to the office for work one morning, and seeing Hiromi's not there. Automatically, you know your day is going to be long, tedious, dull. Maybe you'll actually get some work done for once.

Still, you'll miss making faces at each other at the meeting which could have been an email. You'll miss his sardonic, snippy responses to courtroom drama. You'll miss the way he calls his wastepaper bin his 'suggestions box'. You'll miss the way he sits, legs crossed on your desk, jiggling his foot constantly as you review case files together.

"Husband not in, huh?" Your colleague teases gently, and you roll your eyes, calling back over your shoulder; "Bestie, not husband!"

You sigh, walking to the office kitchen; his turn to make coffee today, but it's now just coffee for one, sadly--

"No no no, out you go, my turn to make coffee today, you--"

"Hiromi!" You squeal, visibly wiggling with delight, and Hiromi turns around with the coffee pot in his hands, briefly joining in with your happy dance, wiggling too.

"I thought you weren't in, I was ready for such a boring day!" You state, dramatic, giving his upper arm an affectionate squeeze. Hiromi tuts, "As if I'd just leave you to the wolves like that," stirring your pair of office mugs ("Mr" and "Mrs", only semi-ironically gifted to you from your Secret Santa last year).

The rest of the morning is lost in bright colours, in-jokes, corny jokes, office gossip ("You know I don't do gossip," Hiromi chides, black brows furrowed, turning his back on you momentarily...before spinning back round, leaning in and whispering, "Just pulling your leg-- tell me everything, in excruciating detail."), and getting your work done at ruthlessly efficient speeds, so in-tune are you with each other.

The endless days and weeks of being too busy to talk properly, leaving each other goofy post-in notes in files, on desks, on coffee mugs, and gradually more eccentric places-- the inside bottom of his wastepaper bin, under the printer lid, Hiromi somehow manages to sneak one onto the bottom of your shoe.

Hiromi loses almost all of his cases-- you are used to consoling him through this. Every loss wounds him. But why do they start to wound you, too? Before you can think on it too deeply, Hiromi bangs into your office one day, and you gasp, slopping coffee over your paperwork. You look up, about to curse at him--

"...you didn't," you challenge, joy blooming on Hiromi's face, and you realise, jumping up with a cheer and a clap, "You did? Oh, you won, you clever thing you, oh Hiromi!"

Hiromi fizzes like sherbet for the rest of the day, his melancholy blown away by your celebration of him. His favourite work-person-bestie-wife. He could chat with you like this all night, if only you'd let him.

Days without each other become woefully empty. The colours wash out of the walls. You barely laugh. You go home without a sense of achievement, but with the sense of a day wasted in solitude and loneliness. All of your other colleagues notice, eyebrows raised, knowing sideways glances...but you and Hiromi do not. Just work besties.

You give each other affectionate jostles goodbye when you pass each other in the corridor, folders in arms, sometimes transferring them to each other, before jostling again; "love you, byeee" (ironically, of course), as you skip and he lopes away down the corridor.

Except, one day, Hiromi's eyes are dark and distant during the jostle, the handover of paperwork, distracted and lost in something bigger...and absentmindedly he leans in, kissing you on the lips right there in the corridor, "love you, byy-"

You touch your lips. Hiromi's tongue darts out to taste his. You are both stunned, perplexed, blushing and flustered--

-- just work besties.

#jjk #higuruma hiromi #hiromi higuruma x reader #jjk higuruma #higuruma #hiromi x reader #jjk hiromi #hiromi hiromi hiromi #hiromi jjk #hiromi higuruma fluff #higuruma smut #higuruma x reader #jujutsu kaisen higuruma #higuruma angst #hiromi higuruma

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hedgehog-moss · 4 months

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I realised I hadn't posted a greenhouse report since spring, and today seemed like a good day for a 2023 home-grown food review!

2023 was a great year for fruit; my apple & plum trees were so generous! In the greenhouse my most successful crops were tomatoes, red chilli peppers, beans, and pickles. I was able to make spicy plum chutney using my own plums, onions and peppers:

On the other hand I was unlucky with my non-greenhouse vegetables, there were so many insects this year and my courgettes got absolutely decimated. But then I complained about my bad courgette luck to some neighbours and was gifted 9 courgettes and 3 pumpkins. I spent the first half of my autumn cooking and freezing and pickling and preserving to try not to let anything go to waste; I made:

7 jars of pesto (with greenhouse basil); 8 jars of pasta sauce (with courgette-pumpkin-tomato-red peppers-onions-basil, + parmesan); an unknown but large amount of pumpkin-tomato soup (I put them in empty glass bottles and freeze them); 7 jars of spicy plum chutney; 2 small bottles of spicy oil for my pizzas (with some of my chilli peppers; the rest are still drying by the stove to become chilli powder); 5 jars of plum jam and 3 of blackberry jam (I also froze several kg of whole blackberries for winter desserts); 6 jars of pickles (they are delicious!! I'd never pickled pickles before this year, I'm really happy with the result); 12 small bottles of elderberry syrup; 4 large bottles of elderflower syrup; hundreds of little apple sweets; several bottles of apple juice; an absolutely dizzying amount of apple puree / compote / jelly, because I refused to leave any leftover apples for the dormouse population. They are not my friends.

(If you think I'm being too mean to the dormice, please know that a) they are unrepentant thieves; b) I became so competent at hiding my apples that a dormouse ended up sneaking into the shower at night to eat my soap. My bar of homemade (not by me) goat milk soap. It's hazelnut scented so I guess if you're a rodent it just smells like lunch.)

I took some stuff out of the freezer just long enough to take this family picture; though I already gave away a lot of things to guests and neighbours, so it's just what's left! (I also froze enough chopped onions to last until summer I think)

I am terrible at labelling my jars; in my hubris I always assume I'll just remember where I put which kind of sauce or flavour of compote. I never remember. I end up having to give my guests mystery jars, like "this is fruit jelly! Made with... fruits"

So it wouldn't get too monotonous I added various fruits to my apple purees: apple-raspberry, apple-blueberry, -plum, -blackberry... I also made a few jars of apple-pineapple-pumpkin compote because I had too much pumpkin and I regret not focusing on that from the start, this combo tasted so good and was the most cheerful yellow colour.

I finally used my last apples last week, making apple-quince paste which is currently drying in order to become sweets. I bought some pretty & thick paper to origami a few boxes to put them in, so I'll have New Year presents for my courgette-providing neighbours. <3

(My cats are currently banned from this room so they won't try to lick the fruit paste) (they don't even like it, they're just cats)

#crawling along

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the-s1lly-corner · 2 months

Text

Making heart shaped cookies with/for the HH cast (Part 1/?)

Long ass title I know but 😭😭😭

Originally this was going to be just for the main cast but then I realized the post would be long as hell and honestly I dont think I'm ready for that yet so splitting this with some characters!! Depending on the reception I might try to do the rest, or maybe some smaller characters (ex. Vox, adam, ect)

CHARLIE:

You make them together! And the kitchen ends as a mess! The cookies still taste pretty good, and while they may not be decorated the prettiest, charlie is thrilled that the two of you got to spend the afternoon together! Would take a billion pictures of you in your apron working on the cookies and keep them to herself.. will definitely talk about this the next time theres a group activity where people have to share fond memories

SIR PENTIOUS:

You both make them together! As seen in the show hes actually pretty efficient in the kitchen, and is fairly neat. The kitchen is still in good condition when the two of you are done! Oh if you two are together you definitely do the cheesy thing of feeding each other a cookie.. pentious seems like the type to make pairings off of what's commonly put together and what logically makes sense. In the case of baking he actually isnt that adventurous or experimental.. perhaps the idea of you getting food poisoning scares him too much..

ANGEL DUST:

Hes staring at you as you shove the box into his hands. He definitely wasnt expecting them, but hes not going to complain about free food! He does make a small joke about how they should have been asses, or even dick n balls.. he makes those comments between bites. He would go further but he just let's slip that your baking is amazing. Congratulations you've knocked the whore out of him with it. In all seriousness, expect him to subtly ask for you to bake something for him every now and then.. he definitely has a sweet tooth!

ALASTOR:

You decide to make him cookies. Alastor was already thanking you as you approached him with the box but his voice cut as he opened them. While yes the cookies inside were heart shaped, you had decided to take.. a creative approach with alastors; making them anatomically correct. You had even decided to fill them with jam! Grody. But the laugh you got from the radio demon was worth it! Hes not one for sweets, but he does enjoy your baking. He does not care for sharing his little gift with the other hotel residents... he let's you know the quality of them, giving an honest review of the taste and stuff.. surprisingly it's a nice encounter with the overlord

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mothtral · 24 days

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robin had betrayed him.

how else would his dear assistant know of his weakness for sweets?

it wasn’t obvious at first. under the excuse of bringing sunday his sister’s latest gifts from afar, you would set a plate on top of the report he needed to review, and insist he take a break.

just for a few moments, mr sunday, you would say. you know your sister would frown if she could see you right now.

sunday would wager that it actually was orders robin gave you behind his back, now that she was beyond penacony’s reach. his reach.

so he let you barge into his office with snacks and drinks, ‘robin was sure you’d like it!’ let you dictate when he would pull himself out of the hole he was burying himself in for the family. of course, if he was taking a moment to rest, then so should you, his dear assistant.

it escalated until you were bringing him desserts from their local bakeries on penacony, using the flimsy explanation of, ‘oh, robin said you liked this before! she hasn’t sent anything recently, but i didn’t want you to go without a treat after a long day in your office.’ and instead of only enough for one, you brought enough for two, and perhaps extras for sunday to take home later.

it was on a rare ‘day off’ that sunday walked past a bakery he recognized by the symbol, the same one on the boxes you would carry into his office if there wasn’t time to grab a plate. it’s your favorite to visit. when sunday returned to his home, there was a small bag with a logo stamped on it clutched in his hand.

you obtained joy from supplying him with treats and pockets of mundanity meant for respite, why can’t he do the same for you?

#sunday x reader #sunday #sunday hsr #honkai star rail #honkai star rail x reader #hsr #mothposts #the calm before the storm

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noosayog · 2 months

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PLS PLS PLS VALENTINE WITH OSAMU AND SAKUSA IF YOU CAN PLS🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

your wish is my command

wc: 600

valentine's masterlist, regular masterlist

❥ Kiyoomi

“I’m not eating any of that.”

“What!” Atsumu squawks.

“Who knows where they’ve been or what’s in them,” Sakusa says.

The entire Jackals team is gathered in a circle in the gym, divvying up the Valentine’s day gifts that fans sent in. Each of the players have their own little mountain of presents and treats, Atsumu already digging into his.

Atsumu leans over to Hinata, conspiratorially placing a hand over his mouth and whispering loudly, “dude’s heartless. These are people’s feelings!”

Sakusa sighs at the setter’s antics. “I’ll read the cards. I just won’t eat any of the food.”

Atsumu continues making snide comments, which Sakusa ignores. He continues rifling through each card and hand-written note, setting the reviewed ones in a neat pile aside from the unopened ones.

The next card, pastel yellow, catches his eyes. He unfolds the card and reads the writing, hardly legible in long scribbles. After reading the card, he places it in a pile, all on its own, and opens the attached box of chocolates. He pops one in his mouth before continuing to sort through the unorganized pile.

Atsumu gapes. “Thought ya said ya weren’t eating any of it!”

Sakusa ignores in favor of finishing sorting through his portion, gathering it up in a bag, and making his way out of the gym.

On his way home, he pulls out his phone and gives you a ring.

“Omi?” you greet. “Hi! How was your day?”

Sakusa grins, popping another chocolate truffle into his mouth. “Through fanmail?” he asks with mock disapproval. “What if I had missed it?”

He hears your sweet giggle ring through the line. “You wouldn’t have.”

❥ Osamu

“Baby,” he complains. “Please. Can I go to bed? I’m so tired from work.”

“Just 5 more minutes. Promise!”

Osamu groans and plops a head down onto the table. You have him sat at the dining table while you labor away in the kitchen, placing the final finishing touches on the massive chocolate cake you baked him for Valentine’s Day.

You put all your focus into smoothing out the frosting, before finally placing one single candle in the center and carrying it out to the table.

When you place the cake on the counter, you find Osamu dozing off with a cheek pressed into the table. You smile softly at him, feeling slightly guilty that you’ve kept him up even after his long day at the restaurant. You lightly run a hand through his hair and he jolts up at the sensation.

As he blinks the sleep off, his eyes find the candle shining in the dark first.

You expect a small smile from him, a simple thank you; even a passing whine about how you kept him up for so long just over Valentine’s day would be warranted.

Instead, you watch in awe as his eyes light up when he sees the cake, all thoughts of sleep vanishing. He roughly pulls you into his lap and presses open-mouthed kisses into your sternum.

“Awww, baby,” he coos. “Ya made a whole cake? Even though ya must’ve been tired from work?”

You melt into his embrace, wrapping your arms around his neck and bringing your face closer to his.

“Nah,” you giggle bashfully. “‘M not tired. I’m the one who’s sorry for keeping you up.”

He simply kisses your apology away, asking you to cut him a slice.

The two of your forego slicing, the knives and plates seemingly miles away from the comfort of your seat on his lap. Instead, the two of you chip away at the cake with just one fork, the rest of your night spent on his lap, alternating between forkfuls of cake and sweet, sweet kisses.

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thebearer · 9 months

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some carm + jewelry thoughts after reading your blurb about his dangling chain:

-he buys you a gold anklet with a “c” charm on it so he can watch it dangle when he puts your legs up on his shoulders to fuck you

-he has a signet ring embossed with a design (maybe a bear? st anthony? family crest?) and he turns it so the design is facing inwards and he spanks you so it leaves a brand on your ass

-after the big checks start coming in he buys you an exorbitantly expensive necklace and fucks you with nothing else on

omfggggg smut ahead minors dni 18+ but i have to elaborate

ok number one the anklet???? yes. yes. yes.

you mention wanting one, sorta in passing, and carmen's like weirdly adamant about you getting one lol??? you don't really understand why but he shows up a few days later with one you'd shown him online, except it has an embellishment. a tiny 'c'.

carmen's kinda blushy about it but you're beaming and squealing and just smothering him in affection bc it was so cute and sweet, and he really was too!!

then you quickly realize why carmen likes the anklet so much when he's putting it on you, then your legs are up in the air thirty minutes later as a "thank you".

your heels are digging into his shoulders, and normally his eyes are on you solely when he's fucking you especially like this. but you keep catching him staring at your anklet, fucking you hard, gripping your claves while he watches it bounce lightly.

maybe it's the thought that he has a sorta mark on you now. wherever you go, you've got something that symbolizes your his- that he's yours.

it was his grandfathers, then mikey's, and then his. mikey gave it to him when carmen went to new york because "you're a big shot now. need the ring to match since you're gonna be goin' to all that fancy shit, carm."

the ring was gold with a black onyx surface, a gold encrusted 'B' in old english font laid on top so it stood up. carmen didn't wear it often, didn't want to lose it or damage it, but every now and then- on date night, mainly, he'd wear it.

and you loved it.

the chain, nice outfit, plus pinky ring? you were drooling. watching him grab the door handle, cut your food, hold your hand in the car. you couldn't help yourself. he knew you couldn't either. it's why when you got home, he just nodded and you were over his lap.

carmen would take his time pushing up your dress, letting his hand glide over the small of your back, down your exposed cheeks, smug at the way you shuddered in excitement. he'd turn the ring around so the etched side was inwards, cracking his hand down on your ass over and over.

you'd squirm and mewl, gripping onto his legs or the sheets. carmen would just stare, mesmerized by the faint emblem showing on your skin only for a flash before fading.

the bear had made the chicago tribune after a raving review from a lifestyle travel influencer posted a video on the menu and it went wild. you were booked a year out, a waitlist a mile long, a million newspapers, magazines, and interviewers wanting a chance to write about the bear. it was buzzing around chicago, and carmen couldn't be happier. or busier.

he felt bad that with the newfound press, he'd been busy. you'd always been understanding but still, he felt bad, heart breaking every time your shoulders would fall when he said he had to work.

the two of you had just moved into the brownstone. you spent your days decorating and unboxing, showing him swatches of paint that you'd mull over for hours.

"carm, which one looks better?" you'd ask, turning around to see him standing there. only this time, he wasn't empty handed.

the infamous teal bag in hand, grinning at you proudly. "what's this?"

"a gift." carmen shrugged, pulling you over to the couch, setting you between his thighs.

you hummed, unraveling the tiny box. "you really didn't have to get me- oh my god." you were expecting a tiny piece of jewelry, not the dazzling strand of diamonds that sat on the tennis bracelet.

"carmen." you gaped, snapping the box shut, holding it against your chest. "how-how much was this?"

"doesn't matter." carmen shrugged, prying it gently out of your grasp. "let me put it on you. i wanted to get you somethin'. the restaurant is doin'... great. and ya know, i couldn't do it without you baby."

you pressed him about the price, but carmen waived it off. you knew he'd been making money- your new house and car told you that, but the kind of money to casually get gifts at tiffany's? it was new to you. a splurge still, but one that you treasured.

carmen left the necklace on, hips rolling while he fucked you in front of the fireplace, right on the new rug. he wanted to take a picture of the moment, watching you ride him, your head tipped back, diamonds sparkling still even in the low glow of the fire.

#thebearer #carmen berzatto #bearblahs #carmy berzatto #the bear #carmen berzatto smut #carmy berzatto x reader #carmen berzatto x reader #carmen berzatto fluff #carmen berzatto fic #carmy smut #carmen berzatto x you #carmy berzatto x you #carmy x reader #the bear fx #carmy the bear #the bear season 2 #carmen berzatto fanfiction #carmy berzatto fluff

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