u/Available-Capital883

Sorry for making yet another recommendation post, but honestly, whenever I do, I end up getting the absolute BEST recs from you guys 😭 And reading fanfiction is genuinely one of the best escapes from real life right now, which I’m sure a lot of you can relate to.

Also, I just want to say I especially love when people really try to sell me on a fic. I’ve realized over and over again that every time I think “oh, I probably won’t like that trope/AU/premise,” eventually I cave, read it, and end up loving it. Apparently my taste is way more open than I thought.

So this time I want to keep the requirements a little looser and just open the floodgates. Give me EVERYTHING. Your favorites, the fics you think about at 3am, the ones that altered your brain chemistry, the ones you wish you could read again for the first time. And if you feel like it, please also tell me why you love them, without huge spoilers. Mild spoilers are completely fine.

My only real requirements are:
it HAS to be long. Like… genuinely long. Under 100k and my brain starts resisting 😭 Absolute minimum is probably around 80k, but preferably 100k+. Bonus points if it’s ridiculously long. I LOVE the 300k+/500k+/600k+ monsters.

no mpreg

slow burn PLEASE

Things I tend to love:
snarky Draco

angst/emotional devastation

tension. Like unbearable, building, drawn-out tension.

pining, yearning, all of that suffering.

But outside of that, I’m genuinely open to basically anything. Right now I’m really into eighth year fics, but I also loved darker stuff like The Morai and The Lair of Death and Vipers. I just finished Another Mask Behind You and I’m currently reading Oxytocin.

I already have a massive TBR and most of the classics are probably already on there somewhere, but I genuinely don’t mind repeat recs because sometimes seeing multiple people love something is what finally convinces me to read it.

So yeah. Give me everything. Convince me. Tell me what fic altered your brain chemistry. 🤝🫶🏻

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping for some honest advice and maybe reassurance.

I really want to buy the Prada “Chocolate” loafers / moccasins, but I’m definitely not filthy rich. My plan is to buy them used on Vestiaire (the resale site), because that’s the only way they’re realistically in my budget. The problem is that I’ve heard so many conflicting opinions about sizing that I feel like I absolutely need to try them on in person first. Since resale items usually aren’t returnable, I don’t want to risk it.

So I’ve decided that I probably need to go into a Prada store and try them on — but I have extreme anxiety about this. I feel like I don’t belong in luxury stores because I’m not rich, and the idea of going in, trying something on, and then leaving without buying anything is really intimidating to me. I’d be going to a Prada store in Germany, in case that makes any difference culturally.

My questions are:

For people who work or have worked in luxury retail (Prada or similar brands):

Is there anything that immediately gives someone away as a first-time or “non-wealthy” shopper? Anything people commonly do wrong? Is there anything I should or shouldn’t do to seem like I belong?

Will I be judged or even asked to leave if I don’t “look rich enough”?

I dress well, but my clothes aren’t designer. I could borrow my sister’s Chanel bag if that actually makes a difference, but I honestly don’t know if that helps or if I’m just overthinking it.

If I do try the shoes on, how do I politely get out of buying them?

What’s a normal, acceptable thing to say when you just want to try something on and leave? I don’t want to be rude or embarrassing.

Any general tips to make this more comfortable and less awkward?

And finally… am I massively overthinking this?

Should I just walk in, ask to try on the shoes, and leave it at that?

Thanks so much 🤍

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping for some honest advice and maybe reassurance.

I really want to buy the Prada “Chocolate” loafers / moccasins, but I’m definitely not filthy rich. My plan is to buy them used on Vestiaire (the resale site), because that’s the only way they’re realistically in my budget. The problem is that I’ve heard so many conflicting opinions about sizing that I feel like I absolutely need to try them on in person first. Since resale items usually aren’t returnable, I don’t want to risk it.

So I’ve decided that I probably need to go into a Prada store and try them on — but I have extreme anxiety about this. I feel like I don’t belong in luxury stores because I’m not rich, and the idea of going in, trying something on, and then leaving without buying anything is really intimidating to me. I’d be going to a Prada store in Germany, in case that makes any difference culturally.

My questions are:

For people who work or have worked in luxury retail (Prada or similar brands):

Is there anything that immediately gives someone away as a first-time or “non-wealthy” shopper? Anything people commonly do wrong? Is there anything I should or shouldn’t do to seem like I belong?

Will I be judged or even asked to leave if I don’t “look rich enough”?

I dress well, but my clothes aren’t designer. I could borrow my sister’s Chanel bag if that actually makes a difference, but I honestly don’t know if that helps or if I’m just overthinking it.

If I do try the shoes on, how do I politely get out of buying them?

What’s a normal, acceptable thing to say when you just want to try something on and leave? I don’t want to be rude or embarrassing.

Any general tips to make this more comfortable and less awkward?

And finally… am I massively overthinking this?

Should I just walk in, ask to try on the shoes, and leave it at that?

Thanks so much 🤍