#i should not be congratulating myself on this

[gallusrostromegalus]

Hi! I enjoy your stories very much. As a shy person myself wanting to push myself out of a shell I am curious if you've always been naturally good at meeting people, or do you get social anxiety too? Sorry if this is a super random/personal question. I appreciate you!

I used to get REALLY bad social anxiety but then I accidentally threw myself off the deep end on the first night of college when I heard people assembling furniture out in the hall and thought "If I do not get up right this second and go hang out with those people I'm going to lie here crying about how much I miss my family all night and they wouldn't want that."

So I went out in the hall and said "Hi! I'm [Gallus], and I thought I should meet people instead of being a miserable wreck in my room!"

And then we spent the rest of the night assembling dorm furniture, talking about weeb shit and generally having a good time! and every single time I've gone and introduced myself to someone since then, I've either made MORE friends and had a good time, or had, at worst, a perfectly neutral time. So that positive re-enforcement really helped.

Anyway, the three Guidlines to Meeting People:

Meet people at places they expect to meet people. People do not want to make friends when they are busy with something else- see how much we hate it when people come to the door when we were working or cleaning. But when they're at somewhere they expect to socialize like a Hobby Meeting, a convention, The Club? they're THRILLED to make friends and tbh probably glad you broke the ice. Go to places where people who share interests with you are meeting. They'll probably adopt you.

2. The Worst Thing that will happen is that you will lightly confuse someone. No for real. Nobody is going to scream at you and you're not going to terrorize someone by saying hi. It's fine.

3. Sample conversation script for those of us who have brains that make us act like we're in a movie:

*Be At Place to Meet People* *See someone who looks interesting to talk to, who is not actively doing a physical task or already having a conversation* You: Hello! I love your (Physical aspect of their appearance they chose: Hair color, lobster-themed dress/Dog/Orbital mechanics tattoo)!" Them: Oh, thanks! It (single sentence of explanation: I did it myself/It has pockets/He loves people/I got it for completing my thesis!) (this is a sign that they are open to social activity) You: That's so cool! I'm (you name), and I'm new here. You seem like cool people, can I hang out with you? Them, and I actually for real swear this will be the answer 90% of the time: Sure!

Congratulations! You have introduced yourself to someone. Continue to be a huge dweeb about the thing you have a mutual interest in and you will shortly have a new friend!

[my-little-random-world]

Isabel: Doña Marta, Miss Fina Valero. Marta: Tell her to come in. Isabel: Right away. Fina: Well, well, well, Marta! The private sale was a total success! You should have seen Carmen; she was walking right up to the clients as they passed through the door. Marta: I know, Astrid Madariaga just called me, all excited, to tell me about it. Fina: They cleared everything out, huh? Marta: What great news! Fina: And why didn’t you come by? I’ve been waiting for you all afternoon. Marta: Because I had to take over my new position. Fina: What new position? Marta: You’re looking at the new director of Perfumerías de la Reina. Fina: What?! Are you serious? Marta: Yes! Fina: What?! Marta: My father removed Jesús and offered it to me. It all happened so fast, which is why I couldn’t tell you before.

Fina: But, but congratulations, right?! Congratulations! What wonderful news, honestly! Because... because it’s good news, right? Marta: Yes, yes, yes. I’m on cloud nine. And for my father to have trusted me... Fina: But does that mean...? Marta: That we’re smoothing things over. Fina: Oh my God, Marta! You have no idea how much you deserve all of this, truly. You’ve fought so hard to get here. You’ve had to break down walls that your brothers, just by being men, can’t even imagine. Marta: I won’t deny that. Fina: And... and what about Barcelona? Is the move still on? Because I doubt your brother will take long to expose those photographs if you don’t step down from the position. Marta: That’s not going to happen. Fina: Why? Marta: Because my father destroyed the negatives. Fina: Are we out of danger? Marta: The nightmare is over. Jesús can’t hurt us.

—Next scene—

Marta: We no longer have to run, and you can stay by your father’s side until his last breath. That’s what you wanted, right? Fina: Yes, yes, yes. Marta: Does that sound good to you...? Fina: Of course, of course it sounds good to me. I felt so guilty about having to leave him. Marta: Well, now nothing and no one will stop us from continuing our lives here. In fact, now with my new position, I’ll make sure no one bothers us in the colony. What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy? Fina: Yes, of course. Of course I’m happy. I’m really happy... But in Barcelona, we were going to live together in the same house and... that’s it, it’s fine! I was excited about it, but it’s fine. Marta: Fina... Fina: No, don’t “Fina” me, Marta. You just said it yourself. Here, we’ll each go back to our own lives, each in our own place. Marta: We’ll find a way. Just last night you were sleeping at my place. Fina: Your place, but in the downstairs rooms with my father, because I thought those were the last days I was going to spend with him. Marta: We’ll figure it out, hm? The important thing now is that you and I are safe. Fina: We’ve really lifted a heavy weight off our shoulders, haven’t we? Marta: I would’ve never forgiven myself if something had happened to you because of my brother.

[meiloorunsmoothie]

4, 33, 52, 53 👀

what are you looking forward to?

hmm...i've been sitting on this question for ~3 days now (🙈) and right now my future just seems like a big unknown—all i see is a big '?'. i'm not dreading the unknown, but i'm not looking forward to it either, so for lack of a better answer, i'm just going to say my yet-to-be-scheduled jeremyathon (which i'm looking forward to even though i don't know when it's happening XD).

oh i also have a family trip coming up in a couple weeks wow i spent 3 days thinking about this answer and all it took was for me to actually sit down and start answering to think of something, but lately family dynamics haven't been the greatest so we shall see how this goes.

something you want to learn

realistically: how to bake actually good yeast bread. how to not kill my plants (maybe i shouldn't forget about them 🙈). how to think (more) critically. how to crochet something useful.

not-so-realistically: i've always just really wanted to be able to do a front flip (olympic season is probably not helping with this). how to fly a plane (i mean...if i really, truly wanted to, i think that one's not too hard to achieve). quantum science. just...everything about space XD.

i've realized that this is more one thing whoops.

something i’m talented at

i'm wicked with photoshop. okay no, that's a lie, and we're not going there today

i think i'm a relatively fast learner and am able to retain information really well. now if only i could choose where to apply these skills that would be great XD.

5 things that make me happy

would you believe me if i didn't say jeremy jordan

spending quality time with my sister (and forcing her to watch jeremy. that's a new addition to our relationship though, which i'm sure she *greatly* appreciates)

well-designed packaging/products, clever graphic design, cool fonts, aesthetically pleasing color palettes, websites where i notice the ui/ux for good reasons

christmas, the whole holiday season and its festivities (maybe it's a little early for this XD)

being productive (okay clearly i'm struggling with this one right now XD, but i like the feeling of accomplishment)

[todayisafridaynight]

no ones ever gonna understand how much i love daigo doin this stupid shit after dissolving the tojo

[trlvsn]

local oldest daughter thinks his relationship with his mother improved significantly; talks to her about body positivity and immediately regrets it

[alicent-archive]

Y’all…I have secured her.

[opens-up-4-nobody]

The way that the sun hits leaves and clouds. I feel like I could watch the colors change forever. If I could slow down for that long.

[undeserved-halo]

why are people so weirdly rude about people with very pale skin???

[charlesherbertlightoller]

Funniest thing about enduring years of being called "manipulative" by my mom and my teachers and my peers for having the audacity to show emotions or pain is, hands down, the fact that I've realized how easy it is to intentionally con people by using raw melodramatic drivel and embraced it. Like oh, it's basic human instinct to respond to a person crying? Wrong! They're all crocodile tears meant to demand your attention, and by God, I will do anything for attention, good or bad! Whatever satisfies the other basic human need for interaction.

[sunset-bridge]

what do you guys mean just . traumadumping to people you met like 2 months ago isnt normal . stop dont do this to me. stop laughing at goro hes literally so normal . stopp oh my god this isnt happening. if hes anything like me he went back home and immeadiatly was like. what the fuck was wrong with me why did i say that. well.

[mainfaggot]

the problem is that i have the temperament of a caged animal, but i also have no end goal lol haha isnt that funny. everyone start pointing and laughing already

[starfilledsky2810]

like half of my mutual's otp's are my notp and I laugh abt that to myself so often lmao

[elenadoeslife]

your first love hits different

[dreamdripdistance]

i did two of the extremely scary (yet very easy) things ive been needing to do for weeks. i think i deserve a medal right now what the fuck

[chryzure-archive]

agonies!!! agonies!!!!

[rosaacicularis]

i just thought of probably the most homoerotic fanfic scene like ever and i think i might just fit it into the hockey au….