#but anyway I highly recommend barbie was such a good time

[subatomicskud]

Barbie movie was so fucking good but since I turned my phone off for the cinema on Friday night it hasn't switched back on so BARBIE CURSE

[oftlunarialmoon]

5 Agere Activities for a Rainy Day (Indoors Edition)

Ciao lovelies! We’re moving into spring here where I am, and with the spring, comes LOTS of rain. There are many outside ideas to do for agere, (and yes, even some rainy day ones!) but today, I’d like to share 5 of my favorite agere activities to do on a rainy day, or on days where I can’t go outside (snow, too hot, etc.)..

All of the ideas I’m sharing today are my personal faves!

Idea #1: Change your doll’s (or stuffies!) outfits….or make them some outfits!

Super old pic, I know (I have wayyy different hair now, lol), but this idea is still one of my faves. Picking new outfits for my dolls is always super fun and sometimes I even have a mini photoshoot with them after changing their looks. I can also turn this idea into a full afternoon of play by setting up a “doll salon” to select their looks and they each get a spray of choice perfumes and hair brushes :) 

If you don’t have clothes for your dolls/stuffies, you can also make them clothing or accessories! I’m aiming to put some tutorials of that sort on the blog and possibly on the Youtube channel soon, but for now, here’s some tutorials that I have already made to get you started:

There are many fun and simple methods for making doll clothing or accessories, I once again have to highly recommend MyFroggyStuff’s Youtube channel for this! She has awesome ideas and she makes it all seem so easy. 

Idea #2: Take a fun Bubble Bath!

Taking a fun and relaxing bath is a nice way to both regress, and practice self-care! You can find cute bath toys like these at dollar stores, and bath bombs, bubble bath, bath fizzies, etc as well! I even love buying the “bath puppets” which are just washcloths that go on your hands like a puppet, and are shaped like animals! I have a sharkie and a froggie. When I take baths or showers, I like to imagine going through a checklist with my scrubby buddy (most often Mr Sharkie) to make sure I get 1000000% clean! Sometimes I even make a little song of this and hum it to myself. :)

It’s also nice having access to fun body washes and soap! My current favorite body wash is scented from “Viva las Vegas SWEET” which is some kind of perfume thing, but it smells like candy, and it looks cute out of the tube! (it’s pink and shimmery 0.0)

I’ve also seen body washes for babyshark, Barbie, and other kids franchises! Oh, and even some grown-ups products are still cute for this too! I have a Hello Kitty sugar scrub that was intended for grown-ups, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t cute anyway! :) Oh, and Crayola makes body wash “crayons” as well, the tubes are crayon shaped and the body washes are colorful!

Okie, okie, that’s a lot of me rambling about baths, sorry >.<

Idea #3: Play Video Games!

Sometimes there’s nothing better than wearing comfy clothes, having a nice snack, and playing video games! On rainy days this activity feels super cozy and wonderful, and there are lots of games out there that are cute and good for agere!

My current faves are Animal Crossing New Horizons on my Switch, Sandbox Coloring App on my phone, Nintendogs on my 3Ds, and Minecraft on my PC! I love that games are on a lot of different devices, so that I can always find something to do~

I think Animal Crossing is a really cool game for age regressors, and the New Horizons one is very cute for a lot of reasons! I can dress my avatar up in cute fashions and i can even buy…..pacis! and…..Cute kawaii dresses!!! :0 You could make your dream agere outfits in this game, and i do it all the time, tbh!

Idea #4: Journaling or Writing in a Diary!

I love love love my regression journal! I use stickers, washi tape, coloring pages, crayons, markers, and more on it, and it’s really freeing to have a journal that doesn’t need to be neat or tidy. My daily journal is also my regression journal, as I am someone who is semi-regressed all the time! :3 I also do vent journal entries in this journal (to share with my therapist), and lists, collages, doodles, info pages…lots of things! 

I have an article on here actually about Agere Journaling! 

I also want to briefly ramble about my stickers, I have found 2 really good sources of stickers for my journal. The first is a subscription service called Stickii, which sends you a themed sticker pack every month, these packs include stickers from lots of independent artists and I really love each one I’ve gotten so far (I’ve gotten 2 so far.) **DISCLAIMER: I am not sponsored or affiliated with this brand, I just wanted to give a personal recommendation! 

The second is Blippo Kawaii Shop, which sells sticker mystery bags which I have an opening video of on OFT’s IG! :) I love their selection of kawaii stickers, and it’s always fun getting a package from them. Also… once again: **DISCLAIMER: I am not sponsored or affiliated with this brand, I just wanted to give a personal recommendation! 

Idea #5: Play with Legos or building blocks! 

Something that I love doing when I am small is playing with building blocks or legos! I like the Minecraft sets or the dollar store legos! :) I use the legos to build things for my mini town and dollhouse, as well as make dollrooms! :) 

Megablocks have larger blocks as well if you regress younger and want something more simple. Also… once again: **DISCLAIMER: I am not sponsored or affiliated with this brand, I just wanted to give a personal recommendation! 

You can use building blocks to make obstacle courses for your minis, specific types of buildings for playing pretend, mecha robots for epic battles…….>.<’ sorry my brain totally went to gundam XD

They also sell building block sets for making iconic characters like pikachu and other pokemon, as well as other anime and game characters! I think this type of block is called a nano block.

CONCLUSION: 

What do you think of these 5 agere activities for a rainy day? What activities are your favorite when small? Let me know in the comments, I love hearing from you lovelies and having great discussions!

And now for the most important thing in this outro…..I get to say……

STAY AWESOME!! You are awesome, just as you are, and you should look at yourself with love and kindness. Don’t forget to love yourself, whether you practice self-care, treat yourself, or take care of your future self by getting a task done ahead of time, self love is important!

Okie, all my ramblings aside, see you in my next post, video, or whatever comes next!

[ageless-aislynn]

Rules || Share 10 facts about yourself and tag 10 other blogs! I want to get to know my mutuals, and the people I follow a little bit :) The facts can be about anything! 

Tagged by @mrtobenamedlater, thank you!

1. I vid by using a lot of line-of-sight, meaning I find the beat I want the action to match on the audio line and line it up that way. I, of course, also watch the video/audio preview window but, for fine tuning the beat use, I rely on line-of-sight to get things hitting when I want it to. Hopefully. 🤞😣🤞😂

Here, have a random cap of “Like Ghosts” (John/Kai, Halo) as it was in progress. 😉

2. Once I finish my WIPs, I plan on taking a sabbatical from writing. I’m honestly not sure for how long, I’ll have to see how I feel when I get there. Right now, that means, over on the Halo side of the Field of WIPs, finishing “15 Minutes” and “Recreation” and, for the Flash, “The Price,” “Guardian Angel”, “Split” (temp name for final fic in the Ghost of Eobard Thawne series) and whatever I can come up with for the final Snowells Week for this year. 

3. I now have way more games in my Steam library than I’ll ever play in my life.

This is mostly because of how I like to play. I like to get to know a game, to become familiar and comfortable with it. This is why the Halo MCC was perfect for me: I can replay something like Reach a million times and either do exactly what I usually do and STILL have something unexpected happen or I can try out something totally new and different. Like, I had no idea for the longest time that you can save the Troop ‘hog on ONI: Sword Base, the one that drives across the way and gets blown up by the Wraiths as soon as the door opens when you pick up the target locator. But you can TOTALLY save it (with the Acrophobia skull and a plasma pistol 😉) and drive it all of the way through the rest of the mission with a full load of 3 marines and Kat along with you until you reach the elevator section! It will be on fire the entire time but its health is fine, it’s all just cosmetic. So I always save the Troop ‘hog now, unless I have a reason to need a Warthog with a turret on it. I love my Flamin’ Troop ‘hog! I named it Trooper because I’m original and unique. 😎👍

If I have to not save them, I always dramatically exclaim, “NOOOO, MAH BOYS!!!” when Trooper goes boom. 😭😭😭 We also pause to acknowledge Trooper’s destroyed shell when we return to the base later. 😥😉

Anyway, playing like this means I’ll replay one game over and over and, with long games, well... I can spend a LOT of time on them, rather than “one and done” playthroughs and move on to the next one. I just find this more fun than always learning something new. 🤷‍♀️

4. I wish I could take good photos of my action figures but I have a lack of decent light, a serious need for a tripod or something to steady my camera and I could definitely use some cool or interesting backdrop/dioramas. 😕

5. Speaking of action figures, my Master Chief in his Olaf bathrobe is one I’m always going to keep right next to me. I think of him as my Cozy Chief, lol.

6. This is my most popular vid on Youtube. It’s 14 years old and was a request.

7. I think this is a GIF I’m going to get a lot of use out of

I feel like I buffer a lot these days, lol!

8. I listen to a lot of ASMR and I highly recommend it if you have trouble sleeping, need something to listen to while you work or study that is “background noise-ish” or if you have anxiety. If you’ve tried before and didn’t like it or didn’t find it helpful, I also really recommend trying different types. There’s tapping, scratching, mic noises, nature sounds, no talking, whispering, fast, slow, roleplays... Honestly, it’s kinda endless at this point, lol! Headphones recommended as well to get the best effect, IMO. Oh and an ad blocker because there’s nothing worse than drifting to sleep at long last and then HERE, BUY THIS PRODUCT!!!! blares you back awake. 😱🤬😉

9. This is the most recent Barbie I bought. She’s sooooo pretty and has a real, knitted sweater!

(Barbie Extra #20 😉)

My mom and I started collecting Barbies in the last year of her life and it makes me feel closer to her, especially if I find something I know she would’ve liked or if I get a great deal on something. Or whenever I find a Barbie shoe pack, lol. I can still hear her telling me, “We need more shoes! Barbie never has too many shoes!” and those are some trufax right there. 😉

10. I’ve struggled to find interesting answers for this that I haven’t told you over and over before. So in lieu of a (nonexistent 😛😉) cool final fact about me, here’s a hug to carry you on your way today.

Tagging: anybody who’d like to do this *boops your nose politely* 😉🤗💖

[talpup]

PFFFT LOL I'M LOVING THE NEW HEADER IMAGE. Fr though, i really liked the way you handled the world building for crossroads and lost song (i'm so sorry i just favor fics with overhaul in them)- are there other series (fanfics or original works) that you looked to for inspiration to build the lore/world? And are there any fantasy series you read or follow rn?

Those fics have lowkey been re-kindling my interest in the fantasy genre that i thought ended when i got bored of the YA section in middle school ._.;;

I’m glad you like it. lol

No need to apologize for favoring Kai fics. I’m the same way with Shouta, rarely reading anything that isn’t centered on him with a certain adult flavor. And it’s not because I don’t enjoy fics focused on other characters. I mean I read and thoroughly enjoy chatting with @inorganicone2230 about their Kai fics; and loved the handful of other authors Kai fics they have told me about. It’s just, we all have our preferences and only so much time in the day so we tend to stick with those preferences.

‘Lost Song’ is a fanfic continuation from an original series that has three previous original books (four if you count “book II” from the 2nd book of the series ‘The Dragon-Griffon War’). Yeah, I’ve gotten better with titles over the years. lol Anyway, the lore/world building of ‘Lost Song’ was pretty much layout in the first book of the series ‘War of Divisions’ and grew from there. As I wrote that book in my mid-teens, it was mostly me just letting my kid mind wander. Though my love and obsessive reading of ancient mythology had a lot to do with it. The idea of bringing all the mythic creatures from different lore together in one world was pretty much just my teen self doing what my kid self did when I made my Barbie’s, He-Man’s, Thundercats, and Hot-wheels exist in one big fantasy so I could play with them all at once.

When it comes to ‘Crossroads’ and the more supernatural/magic stuff in it, I'm totally not as knowledgeable of magic, witchcraft, and/or the occult as I am in mythology. In fact, I know next to nothing about the subject unless you count some of the ancient festivals that started out more as celebration of ancient gods. So in the case of witchcraft based magic (not magical creature based), I kinda just bullshit my way through, using the mythic history I know and building from there, or just doing what makes sense to me.

Though if you’re interested in a more informed based witch/magic fantasy, I highly recommend @lord-explosion-baku ‘Thorns’, which I am woefully behind on and need to binge.

As all my suggestions would be Shouta centered fics, and you mentioned how you favor fics with Kai in them, I'll hold off listing recommendations unless you get back to me saying you're good with Shouta focused stuff. ...though I really should make a rec list to give fellow authors more love.

General side note, not directed at you anon...

If you read someone's work please comment and/or reblog. It really means a lot to writers.

As for original/published works, I never pass on recommending Sir Terry Pratchett's Disc World series. I have devoured every book of the series, and often spout one-liners from his work. The man was a genius, and will forever be an inspiration who was taken too soon from this world.

You mentioned how ‘Lost Song’ has given you a sense of escapism (something I’m still squeeing about). Because of that, I gotta recommend ‘Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell’ by Susanna Clarke. It’s a book that gave me that eerie excitement I got as a kid every Halloween and my adult self thought I would never feel again.

Lastly @inorganicone2230 has gotten me into Sarah J. Maas A Court of Throns and Roses series. Which is just so yummy.

[mindwideopen]

Because Barbie did it, it’s cool. Well, I didn’t smoke until I was in college, and smoking is not cool to me, but I did it anyway. I wanted a break from work, and we were allowed to take smoke breaks, so i started smoking.

I’ve quit smoking cigarettes but I still occasionally smoke marijuana. It’s legal to do here in Illinois. I am more into the edibles, but I do smoke now and again, but I’m completely sober writing this, and I’m trying to ween myself off. I smoke to escape my feelings. Pretty honest of me, no? Well, yes. I have decided to be honest about anything I want to be, which is everything that I feel it important to divulge. Things that I won’t divulge would hurt people. And I’m not down with that, no matter who the people are, and how badly they’ve hurt me.

People do marijuana, drink, and do other harder things of the like for various reasons. It becomes a habit. It helps us forget, or it helps us numb what we can’t face in ourselves. The feeling I get from pot, is a feeling that a lot of people experience... meh, with the occasional feh, or eh. It helps to allow time to pass between upsetting thoughts that I choose, or, it exacerbates them, depending on my mood.

Right now I can REALLY go for some pot. I mean, I have written myself into a frenzy about former people I’ve known and all the shit things I feel like they’ve said about me and done to me in both in a veiled, passive aggressive way to me directly, or behind my back. I surmised, I imagined, I decided... that they did it. And I’m mad about it. And I’m seriously so over all of it. Especially these thoughts that I am once again experiencing.

So, because I’m entertaining these thoughts, I have whipped myself up into a pretty good, bitter butter lather. And all of the shit, which I’m pretty sure they’ve said and done, that I know about anyway, is in the past. If they’re doing it now, they’re the ones also experiencing the bitterness, but that is something I have no clue about, as we are not in one another’s lives anymore. So all of the upset that I have garnered today, is solely from.... moi. I’m the bully to myself.

Bummer. I have given them all of my excellent brain power today. They didn’t steal it, I gave it over with my attention to the assness I’m reactivating. So, I am sitting here, pissed. I shredded a ton of my angry journaling about it all for compost for my neighbor’s garden, so I know the contents will go where it belongs... to the worms.

I am a fairly intelligent, kind human being, but today, I allowed myself to be bullied all over again, by myself. Damn it! Why do I do that?!?! The love is hard to find when you’re thinking shit thoughts. So none of it can snowball. I’m wading in my own shit thoughts now. Before, I was drowning in them like quicksand. Right now, I’m being honest about me, my feelings, my thoughts, and my process, so the shit pile has subsided a bit. That’s how it works. But I wasn’t love vigilant, so I didn’t catch my thoughts in time, unfortunately to have a completely awesome mid day.

No problem, I recognize it now. I’m getting there. I have good things to look forward to this evening, and I definitely do not want to drag this assstink energy into those fun things with me. I want to leave them all in the past, where they belong, and never deserve to be resurrected to hurt me again. The choice to hurt myself with these thoughts was mine.

It starts pretty innocently at first. It’s a trigger from my environment, or a thought that may seem fairly neutral, but man oh man, my phone!It triggered me by autocorrecting to a word that reminds me of my shit, and my upset. Ohhhh that phone.... but wait. I recognize it, so I don’t have to go there. I can control my mind enough, to make some breathing room around me and the upsetting topic. Yes, it’s not like it’s happening this minute. Oh, but yes it is, cause I’m still focusing on the shit I’m trying not to think about with my attention to it. (1) so, I will go, have some tea, and do some prep for Christmas decorating. That will help.

You see, love is around you waiting for your attention. You just have to look at it to know. The care that it takes for you to do that for yourself will be intregal in developing a loving and trusting relationship with you. You will appreciate the effort you make not going there with your thoughts. You’ll be happier in general, and stay that way longer. The more you decide to effort you, the better you will feel. Paying attention to how you feel, is the way to choosing to feel better.

I’m choosing to inhale, health, and good energy instead of pot right now. I may do it later, out of joy, not sure. But either way, I’ll be aware of why I’m doing what I’m doing. I will become more vigilant, of me, if my wants, my needs, my concerns, my feelings of lack or hurt. I will take care of myself instead of harming myself with hateful thoughts.

If you do marijuana or drink (if you are of legal age to purchase in a place where it is 💯 legal), or don’t do marijuana or drink, the choice is yours. I highly recommend not doing any of it if you are highly addicted to it of course, needs to be stated. You will do what you choose to do, regardless of what I say. But understanding why you do what you do will make the difference between life and death in some cases. The abuser is not the marijuana or alcohol in this case, it’s those who choose to abuse it. The abuser, is you, to you.

Caring for yourself isn’t a sin. Caring for yourself is the most loving thing you can do for humanity right now. The love is there for you for the taking. Show yourself you care, and feel the difference. I feel it already. ❤️

(1) I have heard Abraham Hicks on a number of occasions discuss, “not thinking about the thing you’re trying not to think about”. I recommend looking up some of their YouTube clips, cause it can help a lot. They’re free.

[creatingnikki]

Dearest Atlas,

That is a really fun choice for a pseudonym. Perhaps, your actual name? Unlikely but for the sake of this letter and me you’re Atlas irrespective. So, hello! You’re almost a decade younger to me and I must admit, I’m a little nervous to write you this love letter. I’ve never had an issue writing or interacting with people older to me by 3-4 decades even. But talking to someone younger always takes me back to when I was their age and how much I hated older people acting as though they knew better.

Of course, now after growing up I have realized that it’s just natural for you to know more and learn more as you live more (exceptions exist always and there’s not an equal increase in age and knowledge/wisdom, as we all know). I mean, compared to a 5 year old, you know so much more. But I think the one place where most adults go wrong is that instead of looking after those younger to them, they either patronize them or exploit them. Shouldn’t we, by default look after those younger to us? Protect them, so that they don’t lose their innocence and heart due to this shit world as early as we did? This sentiment is why I love a classic that most people don’t – The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it. I will warn you that the narrator is annoying but his heart is in the right place and that’s the most important thing.

I guess since I’ve already started writing this letter my nervousness is out the window. Do forgive me if at any place I come across as preachy or pretentious. Know that isn’t one bit intentional.

You know how I know I’m no longer a teenager? Because I just spent 10 minutes looking up what LB(BT) means. I still don’t know but as per Google this is what it could mean:

Let’s be bored together (doesn’t fit the context as you said ‘I’m LB(BT)’)

Something related to LGBTQ+ (Is it?)

Lembaga Bela Banua Talino (Which is an Institute for Community Legal Resources Empowerment – umm probably not?)

When older people would be so clueless with slangs like LOL and TTYL and BRB 10 years ago I would think, ‘Are they serious? What’s not to get in that?’ But this is a WTF moment for me because I have crossed over to the other side, clearly. Anyway, now I’m quite curious so do let me know, please! Haha

Though, I do have a really embarrassing and silly story related to internet slang and ‘brb’. So this was back in 8th grade – 2010 – when I had just joined Facebook and had started to talk to this senior in school who I soon developed a crush on. Now, you need to know 2 things for context:

Back then everyone in school would type in “chat language” which was very “cool”. For instance, ‘What is up with you?’ would be typed as ‘wht is up wth u?’

This guy would use terms of endearment for me like sweetheart, darling, etc. *pukes*

So, for a whole week when we would chat, and he would use ‘brb’ during our conversation I had no idea what it was but I just assumed it was another term of endearment. Oh my god. Shall I even say it? Okay…so I thought it was….barbie. YES WHY WOULD HE CALL ME THAT. It’s bloody weird but my 14 year old brain worked in weird ways, and yes you’re a whole lot smarter than I was at 14, and I just assumed that. Why I continued talking to a guy who I thought called me ‘barbie’, I do not know. From entering the world of social media at 14 and not knowing slangs like the back of my hand to reaching here – writing a letter to a 14 year old and not knowing another slang’s full form – a I believe I have reached a full circle. Thank you? I think it’s very humbling but also grounding to realise how old you are or just how much time has passed by. Adulting is quite disorienting and moments like these are needed.

And thankfully, I know what you mean when you say you’re Wiccan. And I think that’s pretty cool! Around when I was 16 I read a Jodi Piccoult book about teen Wiccans and I was so fascinated that post that I did 3 things:

Convinced my friend to become Wiccan with me

Installed an app for spells

Convinced my mom to let me get a tattoo with a sentence from the Wiccan Rede

My friend ditched me, the spells on that app needed things that weren’t accessible to me and I was too much of a chicken to actually get inked (still don’t have a single tattoo!) and none of those things ever really materialised.  In yet another way you’re so much smarter than I was back then. I keep saying this not to be weird but to admire you and just express how in awe I am by certain things you mentioned.

Shall I just paste the Wiccan Rede here for everyone to see how beautiful and solid it is? Or perhaps the end of it that hit me the most?

“With a fool no season spend or be counted as his friend.

Merry Meet and Merry Part bright the cheeks and warm the heart.

Mind the Three-fold Laws you should three times bad and three times good.

When misfortune is enow wear the star upon your brow.

Be true in love this you must do unless your love is false to you.

These Eight words the Rede fulfill:

“An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will”

And the sentence I wanted to get a tattoo of? Any guesses?

Well – An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will.

While I didn’t get it, I do want to talk about it.

People will always tell you what to do and what to be and what to think and how to behave and what to not wear and what to see and what to not talk about. These people will be your friends, parents, teachers, siblings, relatives, strangers, lovers, the government, employers, enemies and bullies. A lot of them will be well-intentioned and that’s where it will get tricky. But you should always do what feels right to you. No matter who says what. Stand up for what you believe in no matter who or how many people are against it. That’s from the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and another book that I highly recommend.

As you grow older, the lines between good and bad, black and white, brave and weak will quickly and confusingly blur. You’ll have to make a million choices, a lot of which won’t matter in a few years while some will stay with you for the rest of your life. And sometimes it will feel like you’re in a maze and thick fog (all the confusion between what’s right and what’s wrong) is surrounding you and there is this loud, piercing noise (other people’s voices) that won’t stop until you find your way out that maze. What’s waiting for you outside? Some people think it’s success, money, love, or even death. It really depends on how you see things and what’s the most important to you.

To me? I think what’s waiting out there for me is peace and truth. Lately, I’ve been able to find my way out but it’s only seconds until I’m dragged back inside. So, how to figure a permanent way out this maze is my journey next. I don’t know anything. No one knows anything. But yet people insist on pretending to know. And sometimes that’s important too (like at work). But I hope when you’re on your journey of figuring things out for yourself, you do what feels right to you and only remember – An ye harm none do what ye will.

A picnic with your friend family where everything was so happy sounds like such a precious and beautiful memory. I’m glad you got to experience that and I can only hope that while you navigate your way through the maze, you find such absolutely lovely and blissful moments in plenty. And as for your ex who sent you anon hate – so glad that such an ass is out of your life. As someone who has received a lot of nasty anon hate on tumblr, I know it hurts the most when you suspect (more like just know it) that it’s someone who used to be close to you. I guess that’s the other stuff hiding in the maze – bitterness and pain. But I think as long as you have a few people who have the best interests for you at heart who hold your hand and figure the way out together, you’re going to be okay.

So, Atlas, I do think this turned out to be a tad bit didactic but know that’s only because the part inside of me that’s still 14 is cheering on for you and sending you much love.

xoxo

Nikki

PS I know I’ve given you 2 book recs already but here’s a third one cos I think you’d quite like it – Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson. It’s a book about two high school best friends who are Wiccans and one of them kills herself and the other uses a spell to bring her back to live temporarily to figure out what really happened.

Guys, February is 29 days of love letters. I’m writing love letters, as part of The Love Project, and if you’d like me to write one to you, drop me an email at creating.nikki@gmail.com

There are 10 more spots left, and you can still be a part of it if you’d like :D

I wrote this letter for Atlas based on some questions they answered. You can read their answers here.

[thelastspeecher]

okay so like... ground-rule decisions. Are the Stan twins the ones separated at birth, with Ford a prince and Stan a pauper? (I mean, that works; they're identical.) But then what are the Gucks? (and which Gucks.) Are they royalty, or commoners? And who encounters whom? (my memory of the original book plot is so very sketchy, plus, I have not seen the Barbie version. so I'm just talking generalizations.)

(I highly recommend the Barbie version, btw, if only for the music)

Okay, so I was gonna base it very heavily upon The Princess and the Pauper, but then I thought “No, I can’t do that.  My characters won’t fit neatly into the roles, and anyways, why would I make it close to the movie?”  So this is now my own version of the sort of “royal swaps lives for a week or whatever”, not based upon anything really other than the general premise.

I wanna flip the script.  Ford is the pauper, Stan is the prince.  They are twins separated at birth.  Stan was actually adopted by the childless king and queen.  Ford and Shermie and Ma Pines are commoners running some sort of crafting or clothing store.  Filbrick was the one who arranged the adoption, and he’s dead bc I don’t want him to be in my AU.  So the Pines family is unaware they have a family member in the castle.

The Gucks are a royal family from a neighboring kingdom.  The Gucklings are childhood friends of Stan, esp the youngest three Gucks (Fidds, Lute, and Angie).  Stan relishes his friendships with the large royal Guck family, since he grew up all alone in a big empty castle.

Stan is, honestly, pissed when he finds out that his parents (whom he doesn’t know adopted him; everyone thinks Stan is their biological son) have arranged for him to get married to some chick from a far-away country (….let’s have her be Carla McCorkle).  He was expecting and hoping it’d be one of the Gucks.  But his country already has a good relationship with the Gucks’ country, so an alliance through marriage isn’t necessary.

He complains to the Gucks, who are visiting, about how he’s supposed to marry this chick, and he doesn’t want to.  She’s arriving tomorrow and he wants to forget about his upcoming nuptials.  So Lute comes up with an idea to dress up as commoners and sneak around town.  Fidds ends up tagging along, concerned for their safety.  And during this adventure, they stumble across Ford, drawing in a sketchbook.

Ford and Stan decide to do the “swap lives for x amount of time” thing, and Lute wholeheartedly agrees.  Fidds is less excited but goes along with it and agrees to teach Ford how to act like a prince until they can swap Ford and Stan again.

Um.  Angie’s also doing something.  What is she doing.  Hmm.

She’s kept under a tighter lock and key than her older brothers bc she’s a ~delicate princess~, which means that when she sneaks out, she sneaks out without her siblings knowing.  Can’t risk anyone sounding the alarm.  And once she realizes something is up (bc of course she catches on quickly), she tries to get info from her brothers.  But her brothers don’t say anything, so she resorts to sneaking out to get info.  The last time she saw Stan acting like himself was before he snuck into the village and dressed like a commoner, after all.

So Angie stumbles across where Stan is pretending to be Ford.

….That’s all I got right now.

[theworldaccordingtojess]

AmsterDAM THIS CITY IS COOL

Amsterdam—pictures to come when I’m not using bus WiFi.

Two things come to mind about Amsterdam. 1. It is the single most beautiful city I’ve had the pleasure of seeing. I think it’s probably the most beautiful city in the whole world. Idk, maybe that’s premature considering I’ve only seen a few cities on this planet. I feel pretty confident tho. 2. I AM AN ENIGMA. I say that because is every city I travel to, people are never quite sure in what language to speak to me. I’ve gotten French, German, Swedish, Danish, English, Dutch, I mean really..it runs the gambit. Last night I had a conversation with my new Greek friend, Costas. He said he never would have guessed I was American. I don’t look American? I’m not sure what American looks like. He said I look Russian or Nordic, “or something”. Then again, he also thought I looked like an artist so perhaps not the most credible source.

There you have it folks, I’m an ambiguous, amorphous, enigmatic human. Taking on whatever random pale European nationality people are inclined to think of first. Nice.

Anyway, Amsterdam is a BEAUTIFUL city. I definitely could live there among the flocks of bikers and delicious baked goods. They have an odd pride in their cheese that is very lame and endearing—side note, is that what Wisconsinites are like as well?

While in Amsterdam is did the odd museum tour of the city. No, I didn’t visit the Van Gogh museum or the Sex museum or the red light district museum. I visited the tulip museum and the cheese museum. No regrets, they were the most charming little museums and I learned a disturbing amount about the history of cheese and tulips. Highly recommend both of you find yourself in Amsterdam.

I didn’t have any space cakes, mushrooms, acid, or idk whatever else people do while in Amsterdam. I did have Heineken and Amstel though, both were gross and so I guess the Dutch should probably continue to steal all culinary ideas from Belgium like the waffles and fries and chocolate, etc etc etc. my recommendation: stick to the tulips, Netherlands!

I also did not enter any rooms along the red light district but walking it was certainly a surreal experience. The best way I can explain it is like...sex window shopping. The alleys were lined with little rooms, reminiscent of Barbie boxes to be honest, where women in lingerie would be standing or lounging. Each little room had a twin bed, a chair, a TV, a curtain—and a red light marking the outside. People walked from room to room looking at the women, commenting until they found one they liked. It was pretty wild to watch. One Dutch man told me it was as vital to their collective identity and culture as the cheese, tulips, and weed. Odd group of things on which to stake your identity but hey, Tennessee has bbq, tobacco, whiskey, racism, and music so I guess that isn’t a more normal collection of traits.

Most of my time in Amsterdam was spent walking the streets and canals. The weather was fabulous, not too cold, it rained a little each day but not pouring down. I had blue skies often. I enjoyed the little shops and cafes everywhere. There’s a cafe or bar on nearly every corner it seems.

I can’t wait to return in a warmer season to bike all over that city.

I made a Greek friend that invited me to visit Greece or Zurich (where he is doing his PhD) some time. I don’t know if I’ll make it to either this trip, but hopefully the offer will stand into the future!

This morning I visited the Anne Frank house which was a somber and awe-inspiring experience. Now that I’m older than her and Margot at their deaths, being steeped in her words and her world was really impactful. I’m not sure I got as much out of her story when I was younger, and I’m compelled to read her diary again now.

Now, on to Prague. I have a friend that lives just outside of Prague, so I’ll see her at least once which will be really nice. I’ve been dying to go to Prague and I’ll be there just in time to enjoy the amazing Christmas markets—there’s something so special and charming about Europe all decorated for the winter. It’s been a real treat. Fingers crossed I get some snow soon!!

Xoxo,

Jess

P.S. after writing this, my bus was stopped in Germany for a drug search (perks of coming from Amsterdam). I’m not sure why they waited until 4 or 5 stops into our journey as opposed to searching us at the border but word to the wise. Being drug searched in a language you don’t understand with dogs and like 40 other people all standing in a line is quite the experience. GOOD NIGHT, stick a fork in me, I’m doooone!

[romancereadingdiva]

The Moth and The Flame by BB Reid

This book drew me in like a moth to a flame! 👑👑👑👑👑

After reading the first book in this series, The Peer and the Puppet, I wasn’t sure why Wren Harlan and Louchana were getting a book (we meet them briefly in the first book). I was so wrong, because this book was everything I didn’t know I needed! I was pulled into the story right from the beginning like a moth to a flame, and it never let me go. The slow burn of friends to lovers was excruciatingly beautiful especially with the secret Wren holds. Wren and Louchana are 2 beautifully broken people who fit perfectly together. I loved seeing Four, Ever, Jamie, Vaughn, Tyra and Barbie from the first book, and I would suggest reading it before reading this book. I highly recommend this book and series, because it kept me turning pages like a moth to a flame!

Read through Kindle Unlimited

Blurb, buy link, cover...

They're the best of friends or the worst of friends. Neither one is letting go. THE FLAME Here lies Louchana Valentine. She was a homeless, orphaned virgin. I never cared what my gravestone would say until I landed in deep with a powerful gangster. Lucky for me, my best friend happens to be ruthless too. I should feel guilty that he's forced to turn on the man who's been a father to him. Except I've always known that Wren's soul wasn't as black as he claimed. He was good. He was beautiful. He was mine. He just didn't know it yet. And with Wren keeping me safe, I've got time left to rewrite the end of my story. But if he has his way, virgin is already carved in stone. THE MOTH I've never known anyone as alluring as Lou. Or as frustrating. Since the night she saved my life and stole my wallet for her troubles, I couldn't stay away. She became my onus. My light. My...anyway. With nowhere to run, I'm forced to trust someone I never expected. At least with Lou safe in Blackwood Keep--far away from me--I'll die with my conscience intact. Because she no longer looks at me with friendship in her eyes. Those iridescent blues shine with a different need entirely, and I've never been able to deny her. This second installment in the When Rivals Play series is a continuation of the events that occurred in The Peer and the Puppet. Content suitable for ages 18+.

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RWKJ262?tag=bbre0b6-20&ref_=dbs_pwh_calw_1&storeType=ebooks

[gabe-wallace]

Task Seven

Do you have Facebook? Yes

Friend count? 359 - All friends he’s moved away from and former foster family

Liked pages? Cyanide and Happiness, Mr. Cian Twomey, Laura Clery, The Try Guys, Weird History, Owlturd Comix, Weird Nature, Cool Birb Memes, Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen

Oddest video you’ve seen on your feed? Gabe has many old foster siblings who live on the outskirts of the law- he’s seen a lot of weird videos, but the weirdest has been one of his ex foster sisters intentionally locking herself out of her apartment, doing twice the recommended dose of a highly concentrated type of acid, and trying to break in while her best friend (also on acid) filmed. She ended up breaking into her neighbor’s apartment, who luckily wasn’t home.

How often do you use Facebook? Fairly regularly- two or three times a week

Do you have Twitter? Yes

What is your username? @GabeofThrones 

Follower count? 2,018

Who do you follow? @stellainthecity (Stella) @thebosmer (Finn) @MemesinHistory @GameGrumps @Zachpiona @pakalupapito ‏@InternetHippo

Last tweet you retweeted?  I genuinely crack myself tf up and either end my laughter with "ahh I love myself" or "ahhh I hate myself" it's a good time”

How often do you use Twitter? A truly annoying amount

Do you have Pinterest? No

What kind of boards do you create? N/A

Do you have Instagram? No

Follower count? N/A

What’s your favorite photo filter? N/A

Do you have a blog? No

If so, what is the name of your blog and what do you blog about? N/A

Do you have a Youtube account? Yes. It’s called College Bro Acoustic Covers

Do you make videos or just watch them? Gabe makes videos that were supposed to be just him doing songs (Imagine an acoustic cover of It’s Getting Hot in Here or a metal cover of I’m A Barbie Girl and you’ve got the general vibe) but constant interruptions from his roommates (and videos with Stella passed out drunk in the background) that were too funny to be nixed in the editing process have amassed him several thousand followers who want more videos with his roommates. His most popular video starts with the camera slowly zooming in on Liliana’s face, who says after thirty seconds of silence: Anyways, here’s Wonderwall. The camera then cuts to Gabe doing a cover of just that song.

What are your top five played songs on Spotify? Walk Of Life - Dire Straits // Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap - AC/DC // Whole Lotta Love - Led Zepplin // Lithium - Nirvana //  She’s So High - Tal Bachman

What is your favorite Spotify playlist? A Self Made Playlist called SONGS TO ANNOY WARREN PORTER full of really loud classic rock

Have you ever had an online dating profile? Yes

If so, on what site?  Okcupid

How did that go? It went okay. He went on a few dates, made a few friends (a few short lived friends with benefits) but in his own words “I don’t have time for a girlfriend.”

What other social media apps do you have/use? Snapchat, which he uses mainly to do weird things with the filters and keep in touch with friends. His last story had him standing in front of Lili’s open doorway yelling “GET OUT OF THERE YOU GODDAMN ART THIEF.” at the dancing hot dog filter.

[northpolenotes]

How To Become The Cool Aunt

Becoming an Aunt and subsequently the Cool Aunt is a rite of passage that many women will be lucky to experience in their lifetime. We aren’t the moms. There’s no moral or legal obligation for us to be present in their lives. Rather, our role exists as a matter of choice. Being an active and positive female figure for our nieces and nephews means they will grow up with more than just their parents as influencers and supportive figures. There’s strength in numbers. Being active in their lives means they have the potential to be stronger as they grow up. A strong female who plays an active role in their niece and nephew (niblings) lives is what I call the Cool Aunt.

I have been a self proclaimed Cool Aunt for 13 years now. It all started when my cousin gave birth to Lola (my niece by choice). Then some years later, I was gifted with three more beautiful niblings, Layla, Jayden, and Julian from my sister. I’ve committed a good portion of my life cultivating a unique relationship each of them and adapting to their needs and interests as they have grown.

So how do you become the Cool Aunt?

Becoming the Cool Aunt takes time and dedication, but it’s achievable for everyone. Every child will be slightly different in how they connect and bond with their Aunt. However, there are certain universal truths and guidelines for starting your journey to Cool Aunt status.

1. Start young.

The easiest way to establish that you’re someone to be looked up to is to be present in their life starting from a very young age. Ideally this with begin when they’re babies. If they constantly see your face, hear your voice, and feel your loving touch, a bond will immediately begin to be formed.

To read more about bonding and attachment click here.

2. Be their friend no matter what their age.

Once they become active little people, the best way to get to know them is to be their playmate. It doesn’t matter their age, we all like to play in our own way.

Toddlers are highly active and sometimes unpredictable. They are fickle little critters, so you have to be ready for that going in. Get down to their level and play with whatever they’re playing with. This may change every 10 minutes or so but on the upside, you can save a little money and cancel your gym membership. Toddlers are a workout all on their own.

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As they grow into preschool and school age years, they’ll take more interest in coloring, drawing, crafting, playing sports, and creating make-believe games, etc. Wherever their interest lies, so should yours.

Listen to their music

Play their games

Watch their shows and movies

Once they become teenagers, they’ll most likely have their “thing” figured out. If they’re musicians, ask them to play you a song. If they’re artists, ask them to make you a picture. If they just love playing video games, ask them to teach you how to play. The common theme here is to make them a priority. That’s what all Cool Aunts do.

3. Spend time with them – without their parents.

At all ages, people tend to be completely different when they’re around their parents. I can freely admit to still being this way at 36 years old.

It’s a good idea for Aunts to plan for time with niblings away from their parents so you can get to know each other better. When they’re young it’s easiest to do this by babysitting. However, when they no longer need a caregiver, you can take them out for ice-cream, get a manicure together, or offer to be their ride when they want to go somewhere.

Also, if you have the means to, inviting them to your house for visits and sleepovers. Showing the initiative that you want to spend time with them makes them feel special. In addition, it gives you another tally mark in the Cool Aunt column.

4. Be adaptive in your relationships.

When you have several niblings, no two are exactly alike even if they’re the same gender. Their ages will most likely vary and so will their interests. For example, one of my nephews LOVES his nerf guns and could play war with me all day. However, my other nephew is really into playing video games and watching others play them too. Instead of trying to get everyone to play the exact same game, or even a game that I like, I split my time with both. Chances are one of them is going to take interest in the game anyway because kids will go wherever the action is, but nevertheless, make the conscious effort to divide your time.

Even if what they like isn’t your favorite thing to do, try your best to put in effort so they associate your presence with someone who cares about them. My niece was really into Barbies, but I’m not a girlie girl. It wasn’t something I took to naturally, but I played them with her anyway because she wanted me there.

5.) Stay open minded.

Much like the world was different from when your parents were growing up, it’s the same for the kids now. How annoying was it to hear the judgmental, “When I was a kid…” Don’t be that Aunt. Play along with how the world is operating now instead of being stuck in past.

Let them be who they are – not who you want them to be. Even if you’re a younger Aunt, the internet, social media, and cell phones have all changed the way we communicate.

If they have an Instagram account, follow them and like their pictures, but be weary of over commenting. If you’re thinking to yourself, “Is this too much?” – it probably is.

If they have a cell phone – text them regularly. Yes, I said text, you’re most likely going to get the best response that way. Share a funny meme, let them know you’re thinking about them, but avoid the group text with their Mom. No one likes group texts.

6.) Take a queue from the late George Michael – Listen without prejudice.

Without a doubt, at some point, you’re gonna hear things that you don’t want to hear. There will come a day when an uncomfortable conversation comes about like, dating, bodily functions, fighting with parents/siblings, changes in their bodies, etc. There’s bound to be something that’ll make your eye twitch. Cool Aunts will just let them talk.

It’s better that they come to you to confide in and to seek answers instead of google. They’ll probably still look up things like “How do I divorce my parents?”. However, google isn’t going to wrap its arms around them or dry their tears when they’re upset. Cool Aunts have the answers like google but with emotional support. You’ve been where they are. Don’t judge them for needing to vent, be the nonjudgmental listener they’ve even seeking.

7.) If you’re a Long Distance Aunt – Get creative.

There’s no reason why long distance Aunts can’t also be Cool Aunts. I was a long distance Aunt for 9 years before my shrimps moved to New York. Now they live 20 minutes away from me. It took more effort for sure, but it was an investment in our relationship which was very important to me.

I found ways to stay connected to them like FaceTiming for Dinner, exchanging refrigerator art, writing letters to them as Santa Claus, sending voice notes at bedtime. All those little things add up. There’s no such thing as I can’t because we’re far away. You can if you put in the time. Here are some ideas in my post on 10 Smart Phone Activities To Bond Long Distance.

8. It’s better late than never.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to get to know your niblings from a young age, don’t lose all hope. People form relationships at all different stages in life. Some people get married and inherit big families. Others may have separations that cause them to be away for extended periods of time.

It doesn’t matter when you start in this case. What matters is that you make the efforts to form a relationship. The biggest determining factor in Cool Aunt status is having the desire to have a relationship. If there’s a will, there’s always a way.

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