homestuck things

⟡ Eats the most important ingredient of a shared dish first

⟡ Gives the correct answer in a tone that makes everyone think it's wrong

⟡ Takes the scenic route without telling anyone they're doing it

⟡ Finishes someone's sentence wrong and then defends their version

⟡ Reorganizes things in someone else's house. Doesn't mention it

⟡ Picks the worst possible time to share very interesting information

⟡ Solves a problem immediately but waits to see if anyone else figures it out

⟡ Makes extremely specific predictions that are always correct in a creepy way

⟡ Gives a gift that is perfectly chosen but wrapped like a crime scene

⟡ Remembers every embarrassing thing you've ever said. Brings them up casually

⟡ Fixes something without being asked then acts like it was always like that

⟡ Creates chaos and then watches it unfold from a safe and comfortable distance

⟡ Points out plot holes in movies during the emotional climax

⟡ Tells a secret but says 'don't tell anyone' after they've already told them

⟡ Starts a group project alone then hands in something unhinged that somehow gets an A

⋆˙⟡ "Say what you actually mean for once."

⋆˙⟡ "I'm not angry. I'm exhausted. There's a difference."

⋆˙⟡ "Don't do that. Don't go quiet on me right now."

⋆˙⟡ "I'm not leaving." - "Then stop acting like you already have."

⋆˙⟡ "You always do this." - "Do what?" - "Disappear without going anywhere."

⋆˙⟡ "I need you to fight for this. Just once."

⋆˙⟡ "Why does everything have to be so hard with you?" - "I don't know. I'm sorry."

⋆˙⟡ "Stop apologizing and actually change something."

⋆˙⟡ "I'm not asking for much." - "I know. That's what makes it worse."

⋆˙⟡ "Are we okay?" A long pause. "I don't know."

⋆˙⟡ "I love you and right now I can't stand to look at you."

˙⋆✮ Apologizing and immediately doing the thing again

˙⋆✮ Giving advice they never actually follow themselves

˙⋆✮ Knowing they're overreacting and doing it anyway

˙⋆✮ The inability to leave a conversation without one more thing

˙⋆✮ Turning every compliment into an argument

˙⋆✮ Asking for opinions and then resenting the ones given

˙⋆✮ Needing to be the one who cares less ˙

⋆✮ Starting projects with obsessive energy and abandoning them quietly

˙⋆✮ Remembering every wrong done to them in stunning detail

˙⋆✮ Making jokes at the exact moment sincerity was needed

˙⋆✮ Saying they're fine and being genuinely furious when believed

˙⋆✮ Promising to be on time while fully knowing they won't be

˙⋆✮ Bringing up old arguments disguised as new observations

˙⋆✮ Liking people more in their absence than their presence

˙⋆✮ Fixing other people's problems to avoid their own

˙⋆✮ Being completely incapable of asking for help directly

˙⋆✮ Catastrophizing privately and performing calm publicly

˙⋆✮ Holding people to standards they don't apply to themselves

˙⋆✮ Falling for the same type of person and calling it bad luck

⟢ "Don't you dare stand there and pretend you didn't know exactly what you were doing."

⟢ "I built my entire world around you. You didn't even notice it crumbling."

⟢ "Say it again. Say it to my face this time."

⟢ "I'm not angry. I'm just so, so tired of being disappointed by you."

⟢ "We don't have to do this right now. We never have to do this again."

⟢ "You remember everything except the things that actually mattered."

⟢ "I keep waiting for you to be the person I fell in love with. I think I need to stop waiting."

⟢ "Don't tell me to calm down. I have every right to be exactly this."

⟢ "I defended you. Every single time. I stood there and defended you."

⟢ "You want me to forgive you? Give me one reason I should."

⟢ "I can't look at you right now without seeing everything you took from me."

⟢ "There are things you said to me that I will carry for the rest of my life. That's on you."

⟢ "You didn't save me. Stop telling people you saved me."

⟢ "I'm not the villain in your story just because I stopped letting you write mine."

⟢ "Do you hear yourself? Do you ever actually listen to the words coming out of your mouth?"

⟢ "I grieved you while you were still standing right in front of me."

⟢ "You always know exactly what to say to make it worse. That's a talent, truly."

⟢ "I don't want an apology. I want you to understand what you did."

⟢ "You left and I still made excuses for you. What does that say about me."

⟢ "Just because you're hurting doesn't give you the right to make everyone else bleed."

⟢ "I trusted you with the parts of me I never show anyone. And you used them."

⟢ "There's a version of us I still think about. It just doesn't have you in it."

⟢ "You don't get to be the one who comforts me right now. Not after this."

⟢ "I'm not broken. Stop looking at me like I'm something you need to fix."

⟢ "All I ever asked was for you to stay. That's all. And you couldn't even give me that."

⟢ "Don't call it a misunderstanding. You knew. You always knew."

⟢ "I watched you choose everything else and tell yourself it wasn't a choice."

⟢ "Maybe I should've said nothing. I spent years saying nothing and look where that got us."

⟢ "You can leave whenever you want. The door works just fine, as you know."

⟢ "I'm not the same person who would've let you speak to me like that. Adjust accordingly."

⟢ "She needed you and you weren't there. I needed you and you weren't there. Do you see a pattern?"

⟢ "I don't hate you. Hating you would mean you still matter."

⟢ "Go ahead. Walk away. You've had enough practice."

⟢ "I'm not doing this to punish you. I'm doing this because I finally stopped punishing myself."

⟢ "You want credit for the bare minimum. Congratulations. You existed. Here's a medal."

⟢ "I have loved you past the point of reason. Past the point of dignity. Don't make me regret it more than I already do."

⟢ "There were a hundred moments where you could've told me the truth. You chose none of them."

⟢ "I keep having this dream where we're fine. And then I wake up."

⟢ "You were the one person who was supposed to understand. And you didn't even try."

⟢ "I will never let you make me feel small again. I want you to know that."

⟢ "Don't follow me. And don't pretend it's because you care."

⟢ "She's my sister. Whatever you did to get here, you leave her out of it."

⟢ "I forgave you the first time because I loved you. The second time because I was scared. There won't be a third."

⟢ "Some people are wounds. I didn't know that about you until it was too late."

⟢ "You broke something in me. I'm not sure you deserve to know what it was."

⟢ "Say you're sorry like you mean it or don't say it at all."

⟢ "I kept every letter. Every one. I don't know why I'm telling you that."

⟢ "This is the last time I let you close enough to do this."

⟢"You think I don't know? I've known for months. I just kept waiting to see if you'd tell me yourself."

⟢ "I don't even want an explanation anymore. I want you to sit with what you did."

⟢ "I miss who I was before I let you convince me I was too much."

⟢ "You talked about forever like it was nothing. I guess it was."

⟢ "I don't need you to fight my battles. I need you to stop causing them."

⟢ "Please don't tell me this is for the best. You don't get to narrate this for me."

⟢ "We could've been something good. You decided we weren't going to be."

⟢ "She cried and you laughed it off. I need you to understand why that was unforgivable."

⟢ "Put the blame wherever you need to. We both know the truth."

⟢ "You think this is a fight. I think this is a funeral."

⟢ "You have no idea how hard I've worked to become someone you can't hurt."

⟢ "I used to think if I loved you harder it would be enough. It was never the problem."

⟢ "You don't get to call it grief if you're the one who caused it."

⟢ "I would've given you the world. I think that's exactly why you left."

⟢ "I'm exhausted by the version of me that still hopes for better from you."

⟢ "All those promises. You said them like you meant them. Did you ever mean any of them?"

⟢ "She was my best friend before she was anything to you. Remember that."

⟢ "I used to think you were the one person who would never lie to me. Live and learn."

⟢ "You don't get to come back here with that face and expect me to fall apart again."

⟢ "I am so tired of loving people who can only love themselves."

⟢ "I'm not scared of you anymore. I need you to know that's not a threat, it's a goodbye."

⟢ "You wanted a version of me that doesn't exist. I nearly destroyed myself trying to become her."

1. Slow down at emotionally important moments.

Big emotions need space to land. If a scene feels rushed, pause the plot briefly to show how the moment affects the character.

2. Add reactions, not explanations.

Instead of explaining what a character feels, show it through physical responses, hesitation, or small actions that reveal emotion naturally.

3. Ground every scene in the senses.

If a scene feels thin, add one or two sensory details—sound, texture, smell, or temperature—to make the moment feel lived-in.

4. Let thoughts interrupt action.

A line of internal thought can deepen a scene without slowing it too much. Thoughts show stakes, fear, longing, or conflict beneath the action.

5. Expand consequences, not events.

You don’t need more things to happen—you need to show what matters. Focus on how events change relationships, decisions, or self-perception.

6. Strengthen setting where emotion peaks.

The environment should echo or contrast the emotion of the scene. Setting is not decoration—it’s emotional reinforcement.

7. Add specific details instead of general ones.

Underwriting often relies on vague language. Swap “they argued” for one sharp line of dialogue or a specific breaking point.

8. Let dialogue breathe.

Short dialogue exchanges without pauses can feel flat. Add beats—silence, gestures, interruptions—to give the conversation weight.

9. Show transitions between scenes.

If scenes jump too quickly, readers feel disoriented. A brief transition helps establish time, mood, and emotional continuity.

10. Clarify stakes early in the scene.

If readers don’t know what can be lost, scenes feel empty. Make sure the character wants something specific and fears losing it.

11. Use the “what are they feeling right now?” check.

After each major beat, ask what emotion is dominant in that moment. If it’s missing on the page, the scene is likely underwritten.

12. Expand scenes that feel “too clean.”

⋆‧°𓏲ּ𝄢 "of course you're here. you always show up where you're least wanted."

⋆‧°𓏲ּ𝄢 "i'd rather fail alone than succeed with your help."

⋆‧°𓏲ּ𝄢 "we both know i'm better at this. stop pretending otherwise."

⋆‧°𓏲ּ𝄢 "enjoy second place. the view never changes from down there, does it?"

⋆‧°𓏲ּ𝄢 "you've been trying to beat me for years. how's that working out for you?"

⋆‧°𓏲ּ𝄢 "i don't hate you. i just think the world would be better if you were somewhere else."

⋆‧°𓏲ּ𝄢 "you stole my idea and you know it. we both know it."

⋆‧°𓏲ּ𝄢 "i've been waiting for you to fail. today's the day, i can feel it."

⋆‧°𓏲ּ𝄢 "don't smile at me like we're friends. we're not friends. we never were."

⋆‧°𓏲ּ𝄢 "you got lucky. that's all this was. luck."

⋆‧°𓏲ּ𝄢 "i see you're still riding on past glory. must be exhausting."

⋆‧°𓏲ּ𝄢 "the only reason you're here is because i couldn't be. remember that."

⋆‧°𓏲ּ𝄢 "you think you're so much better than everyone else. newsflash: you're not."

⋆‧°𓏲ּ𝄢 "i don't need your pity. i need you to stay out of my way."

⋆‧°𓏲ּ𝄢 "we could have been great together. instead you had to make it a competition."

⋆‧°𓏲ּ𝄢 "congratulations. you won. was it worth losing everything else?"

⋆‧°𓏲ּ𝄢 "i'll never forgive you for what you did. never."

⋆‧°𓏲ּ𝄢 "you always take the easy path. must be nice having no integrity."

⋆‧°𓏲ּ𝄢 "history repeats itself. you'll mess this up too, just like last time."

⋆‧°𓏲ּ𝄢 "the difference between us? i earned this. you just got handed everything."

⋆‧°𓏲ּ𝄢 "saving my spot? how thoughtful. i wasn't planning on sitting with you anyway."

⋆‧°𓏲ּ𝄢 "you can fool everyone else, but i know exactly who you are."

⋆‧°𓏲ּ𝄢 "this isn't over. it'll never be over between us."

Things to consider when writing about mentors!!

⊹ Why are they mentoring your protagonist specifically. Did they see potential? Do they owe someone a favor? Are they bored? Trying to redeem themselves through teaching? Were they forced into it?

⊹ What's their teaching style. Strict and traditional? Chaotic and unpredictable? Gentle encouragement? Tough love that borders on cruel? Do they explain things or just throw the student into situations and hope they figure it out

⊹ What's their backstory and how does it affect their mentoring. Were they a prodigy or did they struggle? Did they have a good mentor or a terrible one they're trying not to become? Do they have regrets about their past choices?

⊹ Are they actually good at teaching or just good at the skill itself. Because being talented doesn't mean you can explain how to do the thing. Some mentors are terrible teachers but great at what they do

⊹ What are they hiding. Every good mentor has secrets. Past failures, dark history, the real reason they're helping, doubts about the protagonist's chances, their own declining abilities

⊹ How emotionally available are they. Do they actually care about the student as a person or just as a project? Will they have genuine conversations or deflect everything with cryptic wisdom? Can the protagonist actually talk to them

⊹ What's their relationship with failure. Do they let the student fail and learn? Helicopter parent energy where they interfere too much? Give up on students who don't meet expectations immediately

⊹ Are they preparing the student for something specific or just general training. Is there a test, a battle, a destiny? Or are they just teaching skills and hoping for the best

⊹ What do they refuse to teach and why. Is there forbidden knowledge? Techniques too dangerous? Things they think the student isn't ready for?

⊹ How do they handle the student surpassing them. Proud? Threatened? Jealous? Relieved? A mix of everything? The moment the student becomes better than the teacher is always loaded

⊹ What's their fatal flaw. Arrogance? Cowardice? Living in the past? Alcoholism? Trust issues? Mentors can't be perfect wise beings, they need to be chaotic humans

⊹ Do they have other students or is this protagonist special. If there were others, what happened to them? Dead? Quit? Turned evil? Still around and now there's sibling rivalry?

⊹ What's their endgame. Are they planning to retire after this? Die dramatically to motivate the hero? Stick around? Do they have their own goals beyond teaching

⊹ How much do they actually tell the protagonist vs withhold "for their own good." Because mentors who keep secrets always think they have good reasons but it usually backfires

⊹ What happens if the student rejects their teaching or goes a different path. Do they accept it? Feel betrayed? Try to force them back? Cut them off completely?

⊹ Are they connected to the villain somehow. Former friends, rivals, family, same teacher?

✩ "You've been chasing me for years. When does it get embarrassing for you."

✩ "I don't hate you. Hate implies I think about you more than necessary."

✩ "You're the only person who makes me want to be better just to beat you."

✩ "We keep ending up in the same room. The universe has a sick sense of humor."

✩ "I'll admit it, that was impressive. Don't let it go to your head."

✩ "You fight like someone with something to prove. What is it."

✩ "I've studied every move you make. You have one weakness. I found it."

✩ "Stop being so good at this. It's deeply inconvenient for me."

✩ "We want the same thing. The only question is who gets there first."

✩ "I don't need you to like me. I need you to respect me. There's a difference."

✩ "You smiled when I failed. I filed that away for later."

✩ "One day this rivalry ends. I haven't decided how yet."

✩ "You're exactly as good as they said. Unfortunately for you so am I."

✩ "I don't lose gracefully. Fair warning."

How People Occupy Space (Body Language) 

˙⋆✮ Leaning in slightly when genuinely interested without realizing it

˙⋆✮ The way someone physically turns their body away mid-conversation

˙⋆✮ Crossing arms not out of coldness but because it feels safer

˙⋆✮ That one person who always finds the wall to stand against at parties

˙⋆✮ Mirroring someone's posture when comfortable with them

˙⋆✮ The slow backward step when a conversation goes on too long

˙⋆✮ Tilting the head when something doesn't add up

˙⋆✮ Sitting on the very edge of a chair when ready to leave

˙⋆✮ The way someone's feet point toward whoever they actually like in a group

˙⋆✮ Leaning back and crossing ankles to signal comfort and ownership of space

˙⋆✮ The unconscious open-palm gesture when telling the truth

˙⋆✮ Standing slightly outside the circle and never fully entering it

˙⋆✮ The way someone physically shrinks in a loud argument

˙⋆✮ Turning the whole body to listen rather than just the head

˙⋆✮ That very specific stillness that means someone is about to cry

˙⋆✮ Raising shoulders toward ears when stressed without knowing it

˙⋆✮ The way laughter changes someone's whole skeleton

˙⋆✮ Touching the face when lying or searching for an answer

𓍼 The thing about lying for long enough is you forget which parts are true. He's been this person for six years. He knows their sister's name and the way they look when they're almost asleep. He doesn't know, anymore, whether the man who loves them is real or just the most successful performance he's ever given.

𓍼 "You know, don't you," she said. Not a question. He'd been wondering when she'd notice. "Yes," he said. She nodded slowly, like she was rearranging something inside. "How long?" "A while." "And you stayed." "And I stayed." She looked at him for a long time. "Why?" He thought about all the complicated true answers. "Because it didn't matter," he said. "It didn't matter compared to everything else."

𓍼 She'd built this life brick by brick. New name, new city, new everything. Spent years learning to breathe without looking over her shoulder. And then he walked into the coffee shop and looked right at her and said her real name, the old one, the buried one, and every brick came loose at once.

𓍼 He knows three things about himself that nobody in this room knows. He goes to parties. He shakes hands. He answers to a name. He is very good at this and it has never once stopped being exhausting.

𓍼 "Tell me something true," she said. He looked at her across the table. He wanted to. He wanted to so badly he could feel it like pressure behind his sternum. He smiled instead. "I like this restaurant," he said. She looked at him like she knew. She looked at him like she'd always known. He thinks maybe she had.

𓍼 She practices in mirrors. Has done for years. The name, the history, the easy way of saying it like it's always been hers. She's perfect at it. She's been perfect at it for so long that some mornings she looks at her own reflection and for a half second doesn't recognize the woman looking back. She's starting to think that's not the life she was supposed to be living. She doesn't know how to find the other one.

Tired & Exhausted Character Traits

 ˙⋆✮ Reading the same sentence four times and still not absorbing it

 ˙⋆✮ Losing track of a word mid-sentence and just trailing off

 ˙⋆✮ The specific clumsiness of bumping into furniture that's always been there

˙⋆✮ Forgetting why they walked into a room and standing there deciding whether to care

 ˙⋆✮ The way emotions become unreasonably huge when exhausted

 ˙⋆✮ Staring at a text for minutes and then forgetting to reply

 ˙⋆✮ Laughing at things that aren't funny just because the filter is gone

 ˙⋆✮ The way sarcasm sharpens when someone is running on nothing

 ˙⋆✮ Falling asleep in any position that isn't fully horizontal

 ˙⋆✮ Asking a question and immediately forgetting the answer given

 ˙⋆✮ The squint at a screen that's been at the same brightness all day

 ˙⋆✮ Rubbing eyes until colors appear behind eyelids

 ˙⋆✮ That slight delay before responding like the signal is lagging

 ˙⋆✮ Eating whatever requires the least effort regardless of hunger

 ˙⋆✮ The way a tired person's handwriting changes completely

 ˙⋆✮ Nodding along to a conversation they've fully checked out of

 ˙⋆✮ The misdirected irritability that lands on whoever's closest

 ˙⋆✮ Forgetting whether they locked the door and being too tired to go back

because theyd rather someone stay terrible or just straight up die than become a better person 

from a compassionate point of view it’s deeply distressing and from a pragmatic point of view it’s outright frustrating

₊⊹ "Let me be clear. I don't like you. I don't trust you. And I will absolutely work with you because the alternative is worse."

₊⊹ "I need you to do something that is technically illegal and morally complicated and I need you to stop asking questions." -- "That's my whole personality though."

₊⊹ "We want different things for completely different reasons and right now those reasons point in the same direction. Let's not overthink it."

₊⊹ "You cover my blind side I cover yours. We don't have to like each other for geometry to work."

₊⊹ "I've fought you three times." -- "Four." -- "You counted." -- "Professionally yes." -- "...Fine. Four. You're better than I told anyone." -- "You're worse than your reputation. That's a compliment."

₊⊹ "If anyone asks we never did this." -- "Agreed." -- "And you owe me." -- "I was going to say you owe me." -- "We'll discuss it when we're not about to die." -- "Fair."

₊⊹ "Can I trust you?" -- "No. But I need this to work as much as you do. That's better than trust."

₊⊹ "Don't go soft on me because we're on the same side temporarily." -- "Don't flatter yourself. You're a tool I'm using." -- "Good. Same." --"...Good."