The House of Marbella

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When a character notices something quickly:

»-♡→ Spotted »-♡→ Caught sight of »-♡→ Glimpsed »-♡→ Noticed »-♡→ Detected »-♡→ Clocked »-♡→ Picked out »-♡→ Espied »-♡→ Observed »-♡→ Sighted

...or if they're searching for something:

➺ Scanned ➺ Surveyed ➺ Examined ➺ Inspected ➺ Searched ➺ Swept their gaze across ➺ Looked over ➺ Studied ➺ Pored over ➺ Scrutinized

...or if they're admiring something:

➵ Beheld ➵ Gazed at ➵ Admired ➵ Marveled at ➵ Took in ➵ Drank in ➵ Appreciated ➵ Feasted their eyes on ➵ Reveled in ➵ Absorbed

...or if they're shocked or horrified:

̗̀➛ Witnessed ̗̀➛ Stared at ̗̀➛ Gawked at ̗̀➛ Recoiled from the sight of ̗̀➛ Bore witness to ̗̀➛ Froze at the sight of ̗̀➛ Locked eyes on ̗̀➛ Gaped at ̗̀➛ Couldn't look away from ̗̀➛ Found themselves staring at

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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

And sometimes fanfiction is, ‘Watch me do a fucking KICK FLIP off this cool sentence!! Also here's some sex'

Intimacy isn't always just the spicy stuff! Here's a few ways to show it through your characters in a few, simple ways...

Kissing their S/O's hand, knuckles, wrist...bonus points for eye contact!

Speaking of which...eyes. Glances across the room, prolonged eye contact, staring at each other

Tending to the other's wounds/ injuries

Knowing the other's tiny habits

Reaching out to the other when in pain, trouble, ect

Whispering jokes to each other

Carefully wiping off a stain from their clothes or face

Taking care of each other when sick or hurt

Hand over the heart/ ear over the heart just to hear it beat

Pressing their thumb over the pulse point for the same thing

Tracing scars, tattoos, birth marks, freckles

Giving the other something tiny that means a lot, a picture, a shiny rock, a flower

In fantasy settings, helping the other put on/ take off armor...trusting the other to know where daggers, knives, poisons are hidden

Telling each other secrets/ thoughts they've told nobody before

Tucking back the other's hair

Putting a piece of jewelry on the other or letting them borrow clothes

Keeping each other warm in the cold

In cases with chronic illness, letting the other care for/ know symptoms

Brushing, braiding hair, applying skincare, etc.

Nightmare comfort

Wiping away tears

Proximity- sitting near each other, sticking close, standing beside each other while doing a task such as cooking, laundry, painting...

lots of internal monologue and even dialogue with oneself

social awkwardness

despite longing for connection, avoiding it because they are not used to it

or: seeking connection anywhere they can, even in the tiny interactions with employees and strangers

making their home a very comforting space since they spend so much time in it

not feeling invited to activities unless explicitly told they are, and even then doubting it

not even considering the possibility of talking to someone

feeling warmth in their chest after a good talk with someone, only for it to twist into dread and doubt later on

⟢ "I'm not angry. I'm past angry. Angry was six months ago. What I am now doesn't have a name yet."

⟢ "You want to know what it felt like? It felt like drowning in something you poured."

⟢ "Don't you dare cry. You don't get to cry. That's mine. You don't get that too."

⟢ "I have thought about this moment for so long and now that you're here I just feel tired. So tired. Like the anger finally ate itself."

⟢ "You broke something fundamental in me. Just—something that worked before doesn't work anymore."

⟢ "I used to pray you'd come back. Then I started praying you wouldn't. Funny how that works."

⟢ "You want forgiveness? Stand there. Keep standing there. Maybe in ten years I'll have something for you."

⟢ "I'm not the mess you left behind anymore. But god I was. God you should've seen what you left behind."

⟢ "There are nights I wake up and I'm so angry I can taste it. It tastes like metal. Like something that should've healed."

⟢ "You told me I was too sensitive. I believed you for years. That's the part I can't forgive. That I believed you."

⟢ "You never hit me. You want a medal for that? You never hit me and somehow I still flinch."

⟢ "I'm not a tragedy. I refuse to be your tragedy. What you did was ugly and ordinary and I will not make it beautiful for you."

⟢ "I was a child. You knew I was a child and you did it anyway and I have spent my entire adult life cleaning up what you made."

⟢ "Stop explaining. Every word out of your mouth is just you loving yourself more than you ever loved me."

⟢ "I don't want to hurt you. I want to unhappen you. There's a difference."

⟢ "You know what's funny? I still defend you sometimes. Habit, I guess. Old dog stuff. I hate myself for it every time."

⟢ "I survived you. I want you to sit with that. I survived you and you don't even know what that cost."

⟢ "The version of me that loved you is dead. I watched her die. It was slow and it was ugly and she deserved better."

So I've been thinking about @macdenlover 's "levels of headcanon" chart (about how heavily a HC is influenced by canon), so I decided to make my own scale about how likely a HC is to be true (including different levels of canon) using queer cartoon characters as examples :)

I just spent an hour making this because I was bored. Enjoy. Image description under the cut.

Inspiration: