Latest Posts by mariethecakegal - Page 4
we need more divorcebaiting. how strongly can canon imply (without technically outright stating) that these two characters are bitterly, acrimoniously divorced? essential we explore this
Romantic Gestures for Characters
❥ The “I Know You” Gesture
Your character remembers something tiny. Maybe their partner always peels oranges but hates the stringy bits. So they do it for them, meticulously. No grand speech. Just peeled oranges on a napkin, handed over like, I got you. It’s not flowers. It’s better.
❥ The “You Matter More Than My Ego” Move
Apologies. Vulnerable, awkward, ugly ones. Not performative, not flowers-as-a-bandage. Just a raw, honest “I screwed up. And you didn’t deserve that.” That’s romance with guts.
❥ The “I Made This With My Clumsy, Lovesick Hands” Attempt
It’s not a five-star meal. It might be an overcooked mess. But they tried. They Googled recipes, burnt a pan, and still showed up with a crooked smile and a smoke-scented apology. Intimacy lives in the effort, not the execution.
❥ The “I’m Thinking of You Even When You’re Not Around” Habit
A voice memo left in the middle of the day. A text that says, “I saw this book and thought of you.” A saved pastry because “you love those stupid lemon ones.” It’s in the thought, the noticing. The I-carry-you-with-me-even-here of it.
❥ The “You’re Safe With Me” Moment
Middle of a panic attack. They don’t run, they don’t fix. They sit. Hold a hand. Count breaths. They become a lighthouse in the fog. That’s not just romance, it’s sanctuary.
❥ The “Make You Laugh When You Want to Cry” Trick
Silly voices. Bad dad jokes. A spontaneous dance in the kitchen just to make them smile. Love doesn’t always whisper—it cackles, snorts, belly-laughs until you can’t remember what the fight was about.
❥ The “I See the You Nobody Else Gets to See” Love
Noticing the nervous tic they try to hide. The quiet resilience. The softness behind the sarcasm. Your character sees it all and chooses to love them there. Not despite their mess, but because of it.
❥ The “I’ll Go to the Boring Thing Because You Care” Sacrifice
They hate art galleries. Or jazz. Or your character’s weird book club full of PhD students. But they show up. They try. They listen and maybe even ask a thoughtful question. Not because they suddenly love postmodern fiction, but because they love you.
❥ The “Let Me Take Care of You, Just This Once” Flip
Especially powerful when it comes from your fiercely independent character. When they finally let someone in. Accept help. Rest their head on a lap and let themselves be held. Or be the one doing the holding for someone who never asks.
❥ The “I Want to Remember This” Gesture
No, not just a scrapbook. Maybe it's saving movie stubs, or voice recording a partner’s laugh because it's perfect and might not last. Maybe it's writing a poem they'll never read. Romance often lives in what we keep sacred, quietly.
❥ Bonus — The Non-Obvious Public Gesture
Holding hands in public when your character usually doesn’t. Or kissing their partner’s temple in front of their disapproving parents. Or calling them “baby” when it makes their partner smile like a fool. Public affection isn’t about performance, it’s about pride. Claiming someone. Softly, fiercely.
WHO ARE WE? WRITERS!
WHAT DO WE DO? WRITE!
WHEN DO WE DO IT?
And there was a silence...
kudos to writers with dialogue-heavy works, I got mad respect for y'all. love using dialogue as a tool, but my default settings are non-verbal (dialogue) and non-stop yapping (description).
just a heads up for all writers out there!
I was recently told AO3 is currently being plagued by bots that comment on people’s works and falsely claim their fics were AI generated. and I can see how vile and discouraging hearing that is for authors who put so much time, effort and dedication into creating their fics.
now listen to me, if you ever get a comment like this on your work, please please please please know that they’re most definitely bot who comments the same thing on dozens of people’s works at random without ever reading the works. at all. they just copy and paste the same script onto random fics, any fic they come across.
they’re bots with malicious intentions, and they most certainly want you to lose motivation and/or delete your works. DON’T GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT.
if you ever get a comment like this, just delete the comment and/or report it to AO3.
remember that their comments don’t mean your works look “AI generated”. it only means these bots come across your fic and leave the same copy and pasted comment on it like they do to other writers.
don’t let them make you question yourself. they’re nothing but spam bots. YOU are a writer and you are fucking awesome.
Reblog this post to ask mutuals to tell you their weirdest theory about u
EDIT: Fair warning this post is cursed and predictions are 7/10 times correct, play at own risk
Unhealed Wounds Your Character Pretends Are Just “Personality Traits”
These are the things your character claims are just “how they are” but really, they’re bleeding all over everyone and calling it a vibe.
╰ They say they're "independent." Translation: They don’t trust anyone to stay. They learned early that needing people = disappointment. So now they call it “being self-sufficient” like it’s some shiny badge of honor. (Mostly to cover up how lonely they are.)
╰ They say they're "laid-back." Translation: They stopped believing their wants mattered. They'll eat anywhere. Do anything. Agree with everyone. Not because they're chill, but because the fight got beaten out of them a long time ago.
╰ They say they're "a perfectionist." Translation: They believe mistakes make them unlovable. Every typo. Every bad hair day. Every misstep feels like proof that they’re worthless. So they polish and polish and polish... until there’s nothing real left.
╰ They say they're "private." Translation: They’re terrified of being judged—or worse, pitied. Walls on walls on walls. They joke about being “mysterious” while desperately hoping no one gets close enough to see the mess behind the curtain.
╰ They say they're "ambitious." Translation: They think achieving enough will finally make the emptiness go away. If they can just get the promotion, the award, the validation—then maybe they’ll finally outrun the feeling that they’re fundamentally broken. (It never works.)
╰ They say they're "good at moving on." Translation: They’re world-class at repression. They’ll cut people out. Bury heartbreak. Pretend it never happened. And then wonder why they wake up at 3 a.m. feeling like they're suffocating.
╰ They say they're "logical." Translation: They’re terrified of their own feelings. Emotions? Messy. Dangerous. Uncontrollable. So they intellectualize everything to avoid feeling anything real. They call it rationality. (It's fear.)
╰ They say they're "loyal to a fault." Translation: They mistake abandonment for loyalty. They stay too long. Forgive too much. Invest in people who treat them like an afterthought, because they think walking away makes them "just as bad."
╰ They say they're "resilient." Translation: They don't know how to ask for help without feeling like a burden. They wear every bruise like a trophy. They survive things they should never have had to survive. And they call it strength. (But really? It's exhaustion wearing a cape.)
Vibes for Softly Tortured Characters
For the ones who make you want to wrap them in a blanket and also scream “JUST TALK TO SOMEONE.”
Always looks like they didn’t sleep (because they didn’t)
Talks like they’re about to say something else, but never does
Constantly touches their sleeves/jewelry/lip, like if they’re not holding something, they’ll fall apart
Laughs too easily, but it never quite reaches their eyes
Over-apologizes for things no one noticed
Craves affection but flinches when they get it
Body language = trying to take up as little space as possible
Flashes of unexpected rage, like pressure finally cracking glass
Always says “I’m fine” in a tone that screams “Please ask again”
Cries alone, then wipes their face like it’s a secret
Feels safest in chaos because stillness feels like waiting for pain
Thinks being loved means being a burden
Cannot remember the last time they were truly, fully relaxed
Keeps people at arm’s length, but is the first to drop everything if someone else needs help
Treats their own joy like it's a luxury they didn’t earn
Not sure about anyone else but I re-read all my favourite AO3 comments when I’ve had a rough day so if you’ve ever taken the time to write a deep, funny, or just kind comment, thank-you.
pond creatures 🪷
just remembered this old clickhole video i used to be obsessed with
idk i just really want everyone to know about the word vermiculation
what awaits outside
twitter/ insta/bluesky/ store
stem
twitter/ insta/bluesky/ store
I'll be at Tomo arts market this Sunday~!
Watched Thunderbolts* and then drew more Magus/Adam Warlock
do you all see my vision here
love reading an older fic (10-20 years+) because you get these hilarious author’s notes but ALSO because you get the occasional “shout out to Jessica….without you telling me to write this fic it wouldn’t exist” and then the author proceeds to write the best 100k fic you’ve ever read and the whole time you’re thinking to yourself, where is Jessica these days? does she know she sparked this amazing fic? shout out to Jessica hope you’re doing well girl
Just letting myself relax and stave off burnout the best I can.
Here's a bat blep as a thank you.
Sadly, not my bat.
Tumblr is really interesting because you can say something like thursday is duck with a top hat day, and half the website will reblog it
soccer
