#writing is how I release emotions

[tsintotwo]

[My toxic trait is I’d get an unhinged fic idea for a niche fandom that maybe two other people want to read and STILL up and write it because it drives me crazy not to 🤦‍♀️...This is 59 Hours, Jake (Sweetbitter) x Reader. Snowed in and stuck in his apartment. Good Girl x Bad Boy, will be a few parts and will get lots saucier)]

Hour 01

You don’t know him, only that he’s called Jake. He’s pale, tall, slender, and casually handsome in a scruffy sort of way. You’re stuck in his apartment. And you have zero idea when you can leave.

‘You tried going to work in this fucking weather?’, he asks you. He’s looking out the window, but there’s nothing to see except pure white.  

‘I was already almost here’. News about this surprise blizzard arrived about the same time as the storm itself did. ‘Had to check out of my motel in the morning.’ you say from his single couch.

‘Not from here?’, he looks at you. An earring glints on his left ear.

‘No. But my firm collects data for neighborhoods all over the country. So I go all over.’

‘Data?’

‘Socio-economic stuff. Income, living standard, health.'

He eyes you, 'Aren't you too young to get stuck in a boring job like that?'

'It's not boring. You get to talk to all sorts of people.'

So much for that today, though. By the time you got there no one was out because FUCKING BLIZZARD, and you realized that the only thing you needed then anyway was to not be out in the open. 

You started walking- with no sense of direction and a mounting sense of helpless frustration. You couldn’t see two feet in front of you, and you were stuck in a shitty part of the town. To top it off, your phone ran out of battery because it’s just that kind of a day, isn’t it? Then walking simply became impossible, so you leaned against the wall you were walking along and let the stupid tears fall. As it turned out, the wall was opposite his building and that’s when he saw you angrily wiping the tears off.

'What do you do?' you ask. 'You were going out too.'

‘I bartend. And I wasn’t going out. I just opened the building side-door a few inches and saw this chick crying.’, he says with a smirk. It’s more condescending than jokey. This man doesn’t much care about being a nice guy, you think. But then, if he didn’t offer you shelter- be it out of sympathy, pity or basic decency- you’d be freezing to death right now.

‘Yeah.’, you say evenly, ‘I felt overwhelmed, and I cried.’ You see no point in being defensive. ‘Thank you, though, for letting me wait in your apartment’, you realize you forgot to say this until now. ‘You probably just saved my life.’, you add, earnest.

You don’t think he expected this answer to his dig. His smile disappears and he looks away. ‘Whatever’, he says, ‘It’s nothing. You said you had a flight?’, he’s got his phone in his hand, frowning, the blue glow lighting up the profile of his face- the sharp lines of his cheekbones, nose, chin and jaw.

You’ve found his power outlet, and are just plugging in your own phone, taking the charger out of your backpack. ‘Yeah, in the afternoon. As soon as my phone has some juice I’ll call for an Uber to the airport, and I will be out of your hair.‘

‘Yeah.’, he says, turning his phone around so you can see the news headline on the screen, ‘Good luck with that.’

All Outgoing Flights from NYC Cancelled.

Shit.

Hour 02

Jake's eyes are a vivid blue. He's from Cape Cod. He works at the Union Square Cafe. The woman who called to check in is not his girlfriend. This is as much as you learned about him in over an hour. He's not much of a talker. So far he’s largely ignored you- pacing about, fidgeting with items in the apartment, tapping his phone. You don't mind, but you mind that you're intrigued by him.

You're from a small town. When you're out working, you don't meet Jake's kind of people: people who give this edgy-cool vibe. It's effortless too. And he's hot. But you better not be interested, 'cause there's another current to the vibe you know very well: bad news. Jake is trouble. You don't have time for that sort of stuff.

He plops down on the bed. Lounges in a way that reminds you of a jungle cat. 'I’m almost out.’, he says, lighting another cigarette. ‘This is my emergency pack. That’s why I went downstairs to look. To see if I could get out for a quick minute and get a fucking carton or something.’ You guess he's starting to talk out of pure boredom.

You sort of claimed Jake's couch. It's big enough for two and very comfortable. Snuggling in there with your feet up, you look at him. Even sitting down, leaning back, there's some kind of restless, coiled energy in him. Under his thin white tee-shirt, you can tell his muscles are toned… okay, maybe not a good idea to notice that. But you can’t help noticing how the ones in his arm flex, because the elaborate tattoos keep drawing your eyes on there. 

‘Is that what's making life hard for you right now?’, you say instead, deadpan. The blizzard actually got worse, the news portals are reporting unprecedented bad weather, and not even a truck, let alone an Uber car, could get here now through the snow. And where would you go anyway?

Jake snorts, letting a stream of smoke out of his nose and mouth. ‘You don’t, do you? Smoke?’

‘No. Never have.’

He raises his brows slightly. ‘Never? Not even a drag in high school?’ He’s got a voice that you like- a bit gruff and guttural.

‘No.’

‘Stronger stuff?’

‘Nope.’

‘Ever?’

‘Nope.

‘Sounds fun, between this and the job.'

'I haven't had much time for fun.', you say. Then you curse yourself. That bit of info was too personal to drop on a stranger- that too this stranger. There's just something about two people in a tiny space, sitting in a growing haze of smoke, with the world out all white and non-existent, you guess. Creates an illusion of closeness that's not there. 

But you said what you said, and you don't look away as his eyes lock with yours. 'Family shit?', he asks.

'Shit family', you say in short.

He nods and raises the bottle in his hand. 'I'll drink to that.' He takes a swig and offers it to you.

You shake your head, 'I'd rather have some food. Would you happen to have anything to eat? Or I can cook. Unfortunately, it looks like we’ll both be here for a while.'

'See if you can find anything in the fridge’, he sweeps the air with his hand, again drawing your attention to his tattoo. You think it’s a mermaid.

You stand up, and before stepping away, say, ‘Hey. Thanks again. I know you’d rather not have a random girl in your apartment-‘

‘That’s what you think?’, he gives a wolfish grin, looking up at you.

‘Well,’, you’re a bit flustered, but you recover, ‘Not one like me anyway. A rescue project. Here for an indefinite time- can’t chuck me out, can’t get out. And boring. So…’

He acknowledges your sarcastic dig with a slight nod. Then he says, ‘You’re not so bad, for a random girl.’, blowing smoke towards the ceiling.

Hour 04

Like many things, you’re also the cook in your family and you whipped up a decent meal. Truth be told you were a bit nervous- Jake works at a high-end restaurant, and while you’re not trying to impress him here you’d feel bad if he didn’t like the food. It’s his food anyway. But he seems to not only approve but enjoy it. He actually says, ‘Thank you’.

This makes you smile and- damnit, girl. That happy warmth in your stomach’s gotta go ‘cause it’s not the food that’s doing it. Jake’s got a small table with two chairs and sitting opposite him in the low light, eating and actually having some sort of an adult conversation- with thorny back-and-forths sprinkled in that you find challenging but exhilarating- is feeding into a gap in your life. You always either eat alone or you’re the only real adult at the table, worrying about whether your younger siblings are eating what they’re supposed to and whether your mom is eating at all.

But playing house with a strange guy in a strange city is not the way to band-aid that wound. You start clearing out the paper plates.

‘Let me.’, he stands up, taking the plates from your hand. His fingers brush yours. It should be nothing, but it isn’t.

‘Nobody’s cooked for me in ages.’, Jake says, unexpected because it’s real, free of sarcasm or cynicism as you’re learning is his usual style.

He’s really close to you. Your eyes meet, his look dark and stormy in the low light, and then they drop to your mouth for a second, making your heart drop a beat.

The shrill ring of his phone breaks the moment. He goes to receive the call, and you catch your breath.

Oh, this is so stupid.

And dangerous.

And inviting.

Hour 07

You realize you fell asleep on the couch. Jake is sleeping too, he’s on the bed. You browse your phone for a while and your heart sinks. The storm is expected to continue through the night. The city is at a standstill. The cell reception has started glitching too.

You stand up, go wash your face, walk around the apartment, looking at things. Jake’s got some cool books, an expensive camera, photos he took (you assume) framed on the wall. They’re of the beach, the sea, a woman. Then you look at him sleeping, and there’s this liquid affection that churns in you suddenly- without the usual furrowed brows and the hard set of his mouth, he looks so innocent and vulnerable. The dark hair falling on his forehead, thick lashes, smooth cheeks, soft lips. He’s actually quite pretty when he's not scowling, you realize.

Okay, neither that affection nor this realization is helpful. Smoke still hangs in the air, making the room stuffy, and you think you can open the widow a crack and let in some fresh air. But what come in are a flurry of snow and a bone-chilling gust, waking Jake up.

‘What the fuck?’, he says, sitting up, groggy.

‘Sorry, sorry!’, you close his window as quickly as you can and hold up your hands. ‘Just thought I’d let in some fresh air for a few seconds.’

He shakes his head, then checks his phone, frowning at the slow internet. ‘It’s not looking good for you’, he comments after a minute.

‘Yeah’, you sit down on the side of the bed, ‘I’m really sorry, Jake.’

‘You should be.’, he stretches, his t-shirt riding up just a bit, revealing a sliver of his pale, flat stomach- God, that’s distracting- ‘because of course, you personally summoned the storm, made it snow, got stuck on purpose.’

You roll your eyes, ‘I’m sorry I may have to impose upon you much longer than either of us planned.’

‘We can find ways’- he leans in, a smile pulling up the corner of his mouth, the silver chain he wears around his neck dangling, ‘to make us both less sorry.’

You are young, but you aren’t supposed to be naïve. So you’re really annoyed at how this instantly speeds up your heartbeat. You swallow, and say, ‘Are you flirting with me?’

‘Why?’, he cocks his head, ‘Does Ms. Goody-Two-Shoes disapprove?’ This close, you can smell his slept-in smell, and that shouldn’t be attractive, let alone this attractive.

‘No,’ you say, ‘just surprised to see Mr. Broody-Two-Shoes be interested in less-sorry thoughts.’

He snorts, ‘Thanks to your terrible joke, I no longer am.’

‘The hours I spent with you must be already rubbing off on me.’, you quip back, and this time his smile is almost genuine. You’re both quiet for a moment, and you know you both feel the connection that’s growing between you two.

‘I’m gonna go take a shower’, he moves away abruptly, and you have a feeling he’s afraid of connections that are real. That would be in character. You don’t judge though- you have your own issues, he has his. Both come down to the same thing- you two shouldn’t… fuck.

Why the heck did I think about that?- you curse yourself. As if it’s already not hard enough to rein in your mind.

While Jake showers, you change too. You’re spending the night here, there’s no getting around it. You have to travel light, and outfit choices for when you were supposed to be alone are not great. You slip on your tank top and pj shorts with a loose cardigan.

When Jake comes out of the shower, he stares at you for a moment. You are showing a lot more skin than you had been all day, so you get it, but worse, you kind of love how his eyes sweep over your body, seem to get stuck on the red birthmark under your throat. Making the situation more problematic is: post-shower Jake smells really good and he’s already done that thing with his arm that makes his tee ride up and you’ve not only seen his stomach again but also the sharp beginning of his pelvic bones because he’s wearing the loose pants low.

‘You look at home’, Jake comments, walking towards you.

You shrug, ‘Thought I’d claim the land.’

‘What about the owner?’ He’s standing really close. And okay, maybe he's this older guy, slick, no doubt has lots more experience with women than you have with men. He clearly sees that, so maybe he's just teasing you. Just some fun- get under your skin, make you squirm. But you aren't blind, and you see that some of it is real interest. The attraction between you two right now, chemistry, whatever- it's both-sided. You feel heat gathering in your abdomen. And that almost catches you off-guard. Arousal, and just from the mere proximity of this guy. You should stop this now.

‘I don’t plan to claim him.’, you say, trying to keep your voice even.

‘Why?’, Jake's voice drops to a husky, gravelly pitch, ‘Not good enough for you?’ You can see he’s taken your words as either offense or challenge, but you’re not into lying games.

So you say, ‘Maybe too good for me to afford.’, and walk away towards your couch. You’ll be safer on your own.

(Update: Part 2)

[dailyloopdeloop]

DAY 71: shy

[loveoaths]

i can’t stop describing maul as innately predatory, radiating silky danger and watchful teeth even when he appears at ease. the man has lived his entire life as a tiger in a cage; he does not do soft, because soft gets you killed, and he refuses to die.

i love writing him feline, elegant and animal bound together. there is something about him that innately triggers the primal in all who encounter him: the hair on your body pricks up, every sensory nerve kicking to life as that ancient evolutionary awareness that something is watching you, and it is hungry settles too-tight on your skin. his presence is paranoia, it’s that inner prickle when you whip around because you can feel someone watching you, but no one’s there. uncanny. unnerving. unwanted.

even when he’s caught and locked in a cell and you are separated by bars and force-blocking cuffs and solid walls, watching him watch you back feels like seeing a caged tiger for the first time, comes with the rapid onset feeling of, “oh.” this person, this thing is so much bigger, so much more dangerous, so much more unknowable than you ever anticipated, and for a split second you do not believe those cage bars will contain him. but then you think, no, metal is metal and you’re safe here. you’re safe. you are. and maul looks at you, contained, padding his cell carefully, knowing exactly when to turn without looking, golden eyes aglow and fixed on yours, and you can almost hear, in the menacing rumble unfurling inside his chest, an ancient word, one your animal ancestors knew but you’ve since evolved too far past to recognize, that feels a lot like “for now.”

[hephaestuscrew]

Michael Tate was introduced in Greater Boston as someone mourning his best friend; his grief after Leon's death is a key part of his character arc. Four seasons later, in his farewell letter to Louisa, we hear him thinking of himself as a best friend who someone else would mourn - a kind of tragic role reversal. In that letter, Michael refers to both Leon and Louisa as his "best friend". As he faced the prospect of death, he thought about how it felt for him to lose Leon and he used that experience to empathise with the grief and anger and regret that Louisa would feel at losing him. He tried to ease the pain that Louisa would feel at his death while knowing that he couldn't. There's something so powerful to me about that potential cycle of loss. Michael, whose narrative has been so shaped by grief, had to confront the idea of someone grieving for him with a similar intensity…

[lifesupreme-if]

thank u to other if authors i know u guys are putting your entire heart and fucking soul into these games and they are kicking absolute ass

[nxctern]

There’s been something building up in my chest and mind for a while now

It’s an odd feeling

[lady-harrowhark]

What do you imagine weddings in the nine houses are like? Do you think they still wear white or abide by any more traditional pre-resurrection customs? Since Jod drew so much inspiration from both Rome and Catholicism (Catholic wedding doctrine is based on the ideas of free will marriage that were tradition in ancient Rome) I think it's likely but there has to be some insane necromancy element too. Maybe a riff on the eucharist from wedding masses? Also, how do you think it varies from house to house? You always have really fun and creative ideas about the world, so I thought I'd ask your opinion about one of my favorite random headcanons to think about. (P.S. I hope the eras concert was fun!!)

Oh gosh, first of all, that is incredibly flattering lol. Second... I actually hadn't given this just a ton of thought before getting this, so it's been fun to thing about!

I think they probably resemble Christian/Catholic wedding ceremonies enough to be recognizable as such, but I would love it if they were like, the funhouse mirror version of that. I LOVE the idea of the Eucharist being involved prominently, but maybe even at a more symbolic level? Like we could obviously tie that to the whole "consume the flesh" thing, but I just feel like Tamsyn could come up with a really cool play on that concept that would never even occur to me lol.

I kind of doubt they wear white; I don't really have a good rationale for this other than vibes. Just thinking about how we see a decent range of aesthetics across the clothing of the Houses, especially in color, it would track that they have differing customs for wedding/ceremonial attire as well. Like, I can't really imagine that the Sixth whole gray librarian thing translates into formalwear the same way that say, the Third does (although using the Third as an example feels like cheating, because I suspect they go over the top for EVERYTHING so no one was gonna be doing it like them anyway lmao).

As an aside, I'm pausing for a moment to push one of my most indulgent AtN bingo card items, which is Harrow wearing white. I know the Lyctor robes are like, iridescent white, but I mean purely white. With Alecto getting so much imagery around light, and how Harrow describes her in the Tomb as wearing wearing "a white shift", it could be a cool parallel. Oh also, now that I think about it, the whole thing about Harrow being a nun, i.e., "betrothed to the Locked Tomb". Plus like, there's something there about the way it would be close to but not exactly like the iridescent white of the Lyctor robes, like, John was trying to emulate that and could only achieve a flashy approximation. And something something Harrow setting aside the black of the Ninth something mumble. But mostly, I'm heart eyes over more wedding/marriage imagery for her and Gideon 🥰 (Idk what to make of that in contrast to the white that the Tower Princes wear, but it's entirely hypothetical at this point, which means that I can ignore anything that doesn't fit my agenda.)

On my last reread, one of the little details that I was actually really taken by was that Magnus is noted to be wearing a wedding ring. So that tradition still stands, at least for the Fifth, and I absolutely melted over it.

I would kind of assume the vibe of a wedding ceremony varies from House to House, maybe along the lines of what we know about the cultures of each and what they tend to emphasize. If that's the case, I would LOVE to see a Seventh wedding; I bet it's gorgeous and deliciously fucked up. I'm really really curious about the wedding that Tamsyn has mentioned being in AtN, especially because she mentioned party dresses, and you know how I love putting blorbos in outfits. I suspect that her saying that is a bit of a red herring... Like if I'm giving my best guess, there WILL be a wedding (an actual one, not just a symbolic Lyctorhood whatever wedding) BUT I don't it will be the focus. I could see it being used really neatly as backdrop for some heisty business, more of a plot device to get people all in one place or as a distraction. I'm not getting my hopes up to see the actual ceremony, I guess is what I'm saying. The real action might be happening in the next room over.

(and P.S. THANK YOU! It was AMAZING and honestly, probably the best night of my life and also I cried for basically the entire thing, I still cannot believe I was lucky enough to be there. I got to go with my best friends, who live quite far away from me and I hadn't seen since January, which made it that much more fun. We went to the second night, and we mostly stayed off our phones/away from any social media so that we could go in and be completely surprised without having seen anything about it, and I'm so glad we did! I wouldn't have held out if we were going to a different date lol.)

[animegoil-vnc]

welp, going through my drafts and found this one: now I'm imagining a story where someone comes into the studio because they'd been looking for Cheng Xiaoshi for years to tell him that his parents died, but all they had was a photo of him as a kid and a small portion of the front of the studio (no name visible) to go off of

[definitelynotshouting]

uhhhhhhhh nice thing i did this week (it is tuesday) was read your new fic and go absolutely cross-eyed with the subtle emotions throughout it. OUGH

WODNWJDNWNDWJKS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA THANK YOU ANON THATS SO FLATTERING 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ im so so glad you liked it!!!!

[getting-messi]

A lil diary entry relating to Argentina

I wrote something similar back in 2017 on this site and it kinda helped my nerves so im going to do it again this time around. *feel free to ignore*

Tomorrow Argentina will pay against Croatia in the semi-final of the world cup. I honestly didn’t think we’d ever make it this far ever again after the 2014 final. 

I’m not pessimistic about the match but im also not confident as well. Croatia is going to be tough. Beyond tough, almost near impossible. I’m mentally preparing myself for what will be a stressful match. Potentially Messi’s final world cup match. 

I remember in October 2017, i wrote a post on this website before Argentina vs Ecuador, when Argentina were possibly about to not qualify for the world cup and it was up to winning that match. I couldn’t believe that we were in this position and that we were playing so badly. Post-2014, it was the worst being an Argentina fan. 3 finals and 3 losses and on top of that Messi retiring internationally? Yeah life sucked. But I still couldn’t support any other team like I supported Argentina. But I still stuck around. Messi came back, we barely qualified for the 2018 world cup - but it was still a small miracle. Even if we didn’t make it out of the group, at least Argentina would be apart of the tournament. The tournament was shit too, but that is beyond the point. 

2021 Copa America was a dream. The team were finally playing like a unit, Scaloni seemed to know what he was doing - things were looking up. Winning Copa was a dream come true. To see Messi lift a trophy for Argentina was a dream come true. I really was satisfied knowing that he could retire having won something with Argentina and he led them to that victory. Seeing the world celebrate, the team celebrate and seeing him bring the trophy home to Argentina and cry as he lifted it in front of the home crowd? Priceless.

I honestly wasn’t thinking that Argentina would be favourites going into this tournament, I was happy with the Copa win but I didn’t really think too much about how far they would make it to the tournament. Hearing Messi say that this will probably be his last world cup was kinda hard but I just told myself I’d enjoy every match that he’d get to play. 

It’s been a joy watching him. I’ve witness him do great things in football and get hard wins but this tournament has been unprecedented. Writers and commentators have been describing him like a man possessed and honestly that’s the best way to describe it. His celebrations, his goals, his joy, his passion - it’s all amplified to a level that I’ve never seen before. 

Being able to say that Argentina made it to a semi-final is a blessing to me. Win or lose tomorrow - I’ve felt spoiled this tournament. It’s been a joy, a pleasure, and an honour. I can say that the team gave their all and Messi was playing at his best. He deserves no criticism this time around - it’s all laid out there in the open. He loves this team, he loves his country and he shouldn’t be shamed that he never did was Maradona did - he should be appreciated for sticking through it all during the good and the bad. 

I will be cheering loud tomorrow. If it is Messi’s last world cup match, then I’ll be sure to enjoy every second of it. If we are able to do the impossible.....we’ll see.

Thank you Argentina, thank you Lionel Messi. Gracias por todo. 

[bixels]

Learning that fans hated Applejack and called her "boring" is crazyyy to me because I genuinely, unironically believe AJ's the most complex character in the main six.

Backstory-wise, she was born into a family of famers/blue collar workers who helped found the town she lives in. She grew up a habitual liar until she had the bad habit traumatized outta her. She lost both her parents and was orphaned at a young age, having to step up as her baby sister's mother figure. She's the only person in the main gang who's experienced this level of loss and grief (A Royal Problem reveals that AJ dreams about memories of being held by her parents as a baby). She moved to Manhattan to live with her wealthy family members, only to realize she'll never fit in or be accepted, even amongst her own family. The earlier seasons imply she and her family had money problems too (In The Ticket Master, AJ wants to go to the gala to earn money to buy new farm equipment and afford hip surgery for her grandma).

Personality-wise, she's a total people-pleaser/steamroller (with an occasional savior complex) who places her self worth on her independence and usefulness for other people, causing her to become a complete workaholic. In Applebuck Season, AJ stops taking care of herself because of her obsessive responsibilities for others and becomes completely dysfunctional. In Apple Family Reunion, AJ has a tearful breakdown because in she thinks she dishonored her family and tarnished her reputation as a potential leader –– an expectation and anxiety that's directly tied to her deceased parents, as shown in the episode's ending scene. In The Last Roundup, AJ abandons her family and friends out of shame because believes she failed them by not earning 1st place in a rodeo competition. She completely spirals emotionally when she isn't able to fulfill her duties toward others. Her need to be the best manifests in intense pride and competitiveness when others challenge her. And when her pride's broken, she cowers and physically hides herself.

Moreover, it's strongly implied that AJ has a deep-seated anger. The comics explore her ranting outbursts more. EQG also obviously has AJ yelling at and insulting Rarity in a jealous fit just to hurt her feelings (with a line that I could write a whole dissection on). And I'm certain I read in a post somewhere that in a Gameloft event, AJ's negative traits are listed as anger.

Subtextually, a lot of these flaws and anxieties can be (retroactively) linked to her parents' death, forcing her to grow up too quickly to become the adult/caregiver of the family (especially after her big brother becomes semiverbal). Notice how throughout the series, she's constantly acting as the "mom friend" of the group (despite everything, she manages to be the most emotionally mature of the bunch). Notice how AJ'll switch to a quieter, calmer tone when her friends are panicking and use soothing prompts and questions to talk them through their emotions/problems; something she'd definitely pick up while raising a child. Same with her stoicism and reluctance at crying or releasing emotions (something Pinkie explicitly points out). She also had a childhood relationship with Rara (which, if you were to give a queer reading, could easy be interpreted as her first 'aha' crush), who eventually left her life. (Interestingly enough, AJ also has an angry outburst with Rara for the same exact reasons as with EQG Rarity; jealous, upset that someone else is using and changing her). It's not hard to imagine an AJ with separation anxiety stemming from her mother and childhood friend/crush leaving. I'm also not above reading into AJ's relationship with her little sister (Y'all ever think about how AB never got to know her parents, even though she shares her father's colors and her mother's curly hair?).

AJ's stubbornness is a symptom of growing up too quickly as well. Who else to play with your baby sister when your brother goes nonverbal (not to discount Big Mac's role in raising AB)? Who else to wake up in the middle of the night to care for your crying baby sister when your grandma needs her rest? When you need to be 100% all the time for your family, you tend to become hard-stuck with a sense of moral superiority. You know what's best because you have to be your best because if you're aren't your best, then everything'll inevitably fall apart and it'll be your fault. And if you don't know what's best –– if you've been wrong the whole time –– that means you haven't been your best, which means you've failed the people who rely on you, which means you can't fulfill your role in the family/society, which makes you worthless . We've seen time and time again how this compulsive need to be right for the sake of others becomes self-destructive (Apple Family Reunion, Sound of Silence, all competitions against RD). We've seen in The Last Roundup how, when no longer at her best, AJ would rather remove herself from her community than confront them because she no longer feels of use to them.

But I guess it is kinda weird that AJ has "masculine" traits and isn't interested in men at all. It's totally justified that an aggressively straight, misogynistic male fandom would characterize her as a "boring background character." /s

At the time of writing this, it's 4:46AM.

[planethead]

i am watching the regular show movie and god im tearing up

[strawberryfemm]

to you it’s perverted gross sex. to me it’s being creative, working through traumas and baggage, healing my inner child, playing, practicing intense vulnerability, finding even more ways to fall in love with my partner, finding more ways to fall in love with myself, learning confidence & how to ask for what i want, care work, emotional release, relaxing, community building, theater, dance, writing, problem solving, therapy, radical honestly, and so much more. and also it’s gross perverted sex.

[4b9]

crying over splatoon again

[hayatheauthor]

Writing Rage: How To Make Your Characters Seem Angry

Anger is a powerful emotion that can add depth and intensity to your character's personality. If you're facing issues realistically expressing your characters' rage, here are some quick tips to help you get the ball rolling. Whether your character is seething with quiet rage or exploding in a fit of fury, these tips will help you convey their emotions vividly to your readers.

This is blog one in my writing different emotions series. Go check it out to explore more emotions!

Facial Expressions

Furrowed Brows: Describe the deep lines between their eyebrows, signaling frustration or intensity.

Tightened Jaw: Mention their clenched jaw, indicating suppressed anger or tension.

Narrowed Eyes: Highlight how their eyes narrow, showing suspicion, irritation, or anger.

Raised Upper Lip: Note the slight curl of the lip, suggesting disdain or contempt.

Flared Nostrils: Describe how their nostrils flare, indicating heightened emotions like anger or aggression.

Body Language and Gestures

Crossed Arms: Show their defensive stance, portraying resistance or defiance.

Pointing Finger: Describe them pointing accusatively, conveying aggression or assertion.

Fist Clenching: Mention their clenched fists, symbolizing anger or readiness for confrontation.

Hand Gestures: Detail specific hand movements like chopping motions, indicating frustration or emphasis.

Aggressive Posturing: Describe them leaning forward, invading personal space to intimidate or assert dominance.

Posture

Tense Shoulders: Highlight their raised or tense shoulders, indicating stress or readiness for conflict.

Upright Stance: Describe their rigid posture, showing control or a desire to appear strong.

Stiff Movements: Mention their jerky or abrupt movements, reflecting agitation or impatience.

Eye Contact

Intense Stares: Describe their intense or prolonged gaze, signaling confrontation or challenge.

Avoiding Eye Contact: Note how they avoid eye contact, suggesting discomfort or a desire to disengage.

Glaring: Mention how they glare at others, conveying hostility or disapproval.

Dialogue

Raised or strained tone with variations in pitch reflects heightened emotions.

Short, clipped sentences or abrupt pauses convey controlled anger.

Use of profanity or harsh language intensifies verbal expressions of anger.

Volume increase, from whispers to shouts, mirrors escalating anger levels.

Monotonous or sarcastic tone adds layers to angry dialogue.

Interruptions or talking over others signify impatience and frustration.

Aggressive verbal cues like "I can't believe..." or "How dare you..." express anger explicitly.

Reactions

Physical Reactions: Detail physical responses like increased heart rate, sweating, or trembling, showing emotional arousal.

Defensive Maneuvers: Describe how they react defensively if someone tries to touch or talk to them, such as stepping back or raising a hand to ward off contact.

Object Interaction

Aggressive Handling: Show them slamming objects, throwing things, or gripping items tightly, reflecting anger or aggression.

Use of Props: Mention how they use objects to emphasize their emotions, like slamming a door or clenching a pen.

Descriptive Words:

Verbs:

Roared with fury, expressing unbridled anger.

Snapped in frustration, indicating sudden irritation.

Shouted angrily, releasing pent-up emotions.

Glared fiercely, showing intense displeasure.

Slammed objects in rage, symbolizing anger's physical manifestation.

Grunted in annoyance, displaying impatience.

Raged vehemently, portraying uncontrolled anger.

Adjectives:

Furious and incensed, conveying intense anger.

Seething with rage, bubbling beneath the surface.

Livid and fuming, exhibiting visible anger.

Agitated and irritated, showing growing impatience.

Enraged and wrathful, expressing extreme anger.

Vexed and irate, indicating annoyance.

Infuriated and incandescent, highlighting explosive anger.

Looking For More Writing Tips And Tricks? 

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[simkatu]

animation override: book reading while seated at the table

download on patreon (early access) (public release - 06/02/24)

another manifestation of my desire for sim to read in a more comfortable position

I changed all the animations where the sim reads while sitting at the table. however, sudden transitions between animations will sometimes occur as emotion animations play regardless of reading at the table animation.

problem with this override:

unfortunately, override only works for reading at a regular table on a regular chair. reading on bar stools and reading at the kotatsu table will not play correctly. this is very sad, I tried for a long time to figure out how to fix this, but unfortunately nothing worked. if you want you can write what you think about such overrides, which improve animations in one part of the game, but spoil them in another. I'm upset, and I don't know if it's worth doing such overrides further. please download, taking into account the problems of this override.