Please let 2026 be good! 😩🙏🏻✨

Does anyone else feel so lonely? like my presence doesn't matter in anyone's life? i feel like i'm always chasing people, hoping they will love me and care about me the way i do for them. but no matter how much i try, it feels like i'm never enough.

I know everyone has their own struggles, their own problems to deal with. i understand that. but it still hurts. i try to be my most genuine self. i try to be kind and to be good. and yet, i still feel worthless.

I could hug a cactus for a lifetime if it meant feeling loved, enduring every thorn just to know what love feels like.

Nonfiction

The Price of The Ticket (borrow from IA)

The Fire Next Time (pdf download)

Notes of A Native Son (pdf download)

Nothing Personal (read on IA - not great quality sorry)

The Last Interview (pdf download) (only 10 pages!)

Fiction

Giovanni's Room (pdf download)

If Beale Street Could Talk (pdf download)

BONUS

Little Man Little Man (read or pdf download on scribd) (Baldwin's only children's book)

Go Tell It On The Mountain (pdf download)

Another Country (pdf and epub download)

Sonny's Blues (pdf download)

Hugs that last longer than they should.

Immediately looking at the other after saying or doing something funny, hoping to see their smile.

Making playlists and moodboards for each other.

Trying to learn about the others' interests.

Continuously denying others who think they are together.

Always giving the utmost attention to the other if they are in a crowd.

Associating random things with them.

"I wish you would stop apologizing. What are you even sorry for this time?"

(๑ᵔ⤙ᵔ๑) TEXTURE MATTERS MORE THAN TASTE!! "it tasted good" tells me nothing. "The crust shattered into a thousand buttery shards" or "gummy, like chewing a tire" NOW I'm there. Crunch, slime, melt, chew, squeak (yes some foods squeak and it's horrible)

(๑ᵔ⤙ᵔ๑) Food is memory!!! your character doesn't just eat chicken soup, they eat the chicken soup that tastes like being home sick from school, like their grandmother's kitchen, like the last good day before everything changed. FOOD CARRIES STORY!!

(๑ᵔ⤙ᵔ๑) Temperature is a character!! scalding coffee that burns your tongue, ice cream so cold it gives you a headache, room-temperature pizza at 2am that tastes like regret. Temperature changes the entire experience!!!

(๑ᵔ⤙ᵔ๑) The SOUND of eating reveals character. Do they slurp? Chew with their mouth open? Cut everything into tiny pieces? Eat standing over the sink? These tiny details tell you who someone IS

(๑ᵔ⤙ᵔ๑) Describe what it does, not what it is!! Don't say "the spicy curry" say "the curry that made her sinuses open up like floodgates and her eyes water and why did she think she could handle this"

Prompts that in some way fit the vibe that I got from a specific song.

Bad Decisions - Bastille

This relationship was probably not going to work out, but why think about the end while you're still having fun?

"I've made mistakes, but this isn't one of them."

The night wasn't over yet, still so many bad decisions to make.

"Falling for you was one of the worst decisions I ever made. And I would choose you over and over again."

It was a big decision they would have to make and they were terrified of fucking it up.

Fic Titles from the lyrics:

Chasing a good time

Love me, leave me

So we'll make the same mistakes

Take a bow for the bad decisions that we made

Cause we lost track of time

Rhythm of the night

✦  “I'd never usually be brave enough to say it, so I'll do it now. I'm into you.” ✦  “I'm definitely going to regret this tomorrow, but can I kiss you?”  ✦  “What do you mean? I'm drunk, but I still know who I am and what I want. And what I want is you.” ✦  “Been thinking about this for so long... Usually too much of a coward, but I'm too drunk to remember why I would be.” ✦  “[stumbling into their arms] Whoops, sorry! Oh, it's you... Hey. Look, I fell for you.” ✦  “I may be drunk off cheap cocktails, but around you I am always intoxicated by the sight of you!” ✦  “I'm sorry, 'm such a mess... Just really like you, and... And...” "Ssh, it's okay. We can chat tomorrow. Just try to breathe." ✦  “Wanna know a secret? I have a crush. A big, fat crush. Guess who it's on?” ✦  “[incoherent mumbling]” "Yeah, yeah. Love you too, buddy." “[more intense mumbling]” ✦  “Not sure if tomorrow I'm gonna regret the amount of booze I had, or what I'm about to do.”