Thediagnosedweeb - The Diagnosed Weeb

Once a month

They tell me it’s a woman's dream/an ancestral right passed down from mother to daughter

A fever lights beneath my skin/red orchids stretching and blooming on my shoulders and back

The great goddesses would smile and kiss my head for this/but I wish they would take it back

The moon with her eternal smirk dances with me/i feel just like the tide, thrown from side to side

My body shakes like a kicked dog/the tremors spread and the entire world seems to quiver as well

I do not feel like myself/ my mother fixes my clothes and tells me that's just how it is

I want to kill myself mother is that just how it is too/it’s not real, it’s just like a dehydration mirage in the desert she tells me

I wail and mother laughs at my dramatics/does she delight in the shared suffering we now have?

I want to cut open my stomach to strangle the snakes writhing in it/mother tells me she's afraid of snakes

I come to my father on my knees like a begging man/this is a woman’s matter he says as he turns his head

When I cry about my miserable existence asking for it’s justification/he says the same as my mother, it’s not real

There is not enough air in the world/but my “sisters” tell me to just breathe, like telling a dead man to still love

I take the tablets/the pills/the capsules/the pellets/the medicine/and I weep like i’ve never known tenderness

I tell God i’ll finally go to church if he takes the pain away and when he doesn’t/i say i’ll start worshiping Satan

I feel like a melancholic girl from the 1800s/banished to the countryside for hysteria 

I wish I was hysteric/i wish someone could give me a prescription of living on the land 

The little control I still have/i wrestle with like I’m a child trying to keep my favorite toy 

The moon waxes and wanes as a crawl on the floor/a wounded bleeding animal

This is womanhood they say, this is punishment/take it back take it back take it back

The resentments and bitterness slip past my lips like puke/isn’t this beautiful, don’t you feel beautiful

I do not want this girlhood, this femininity/give me barren fields and an empty life

I sit with my “sisters” as we talk about Aunt Flow/in this we are a witch covenant bound only by mutual pain

I wish I could give away this regift of living as it was regifted to me/but there is only one way to do that

I feel bruised, achey, and weak/i wish someone would hold me

But mother says it’s natural/and father says to toughen up 

I am already so small/why must you make me smaller?

i remember learning the word melancholy at age 7 or something and thinking oh this word's gonna be huge for me

I am good. I am loved.

Body Language Cheat Sheet For Writers 

╰ Facial expressions

These are your micro-signals, like the blinking neon signs of the soul. But they’re small, quick, and often lie harder than words.

Raised eyebrows — This can mean surprise or disbelief, sure. But it can also be a full-on, silent “Are you serious right now?” when someone’s being ridiculous. Or even curiosity when someone’s too emotionally repressed to askthe damn question.

Furrowed brow — That face people make when they’re doing long division in their head or trying to emotionally process a compliment. It’s thinking, yes—but also confusion, deep frustration, or quiet simmering rage.

Smiling — Can be happiness… or total fake-it-till-you-make-it energy. Some smiles are stiff. Some don’t reach the eyes. Show that.

Frowning — Sure, sadness. But also: disappointment, judgment, or the universal “I’m about to say something blunt, brace yourself.”

Lip biting — It’s not just nervousness, it’s pressure. Self-control. Anticipation. It’s the thing people do when they want to say something and decide, at the last second, not to.

╰ Eye movement

The window to the soul? Yeah. But also the window to when someone’s lying, flirting, or deeply trying not to cry in public.

Eye contact — Confidence or challenge. Eye contact can be gentle, curious, sharp like a blade. Sometimes it’s desperate: “Please understand me.”

Avoiding eye contact — Not always guilt. Sometimes it’s protectiveness. Sometimes it’s “I’m afraid if I look at you, you’ll see everything I’m trying to hide.”

Narrowed eyes — Calculating. Suspicious. The look someone gives when their brain’s saying “hmmm...” and it’s not a good hmm.

Wide eyes — Surprise, yes. But also sudden fear. The oh-God-it’s-happening look. Or when someone just found out they’re not as in control as they thought.

Eye roll — Classic. But try using it with tension, like when someone’s annoyed and trying very hard not to lose it in public.

╰ Gestures

This is where characters’ emotions go when their mouths are lying.

Crossing arms — Not just defensive. Sometimes it’s comfort. A self-hug. A barrier when the conversation is getting too personal.

Fidgeting — This is nervous energy with nowhere to go. Watch fingers tapping, rings spinning, sleeves tugged. It says: I’m not okay, but I’m trying not to show it.

Pointing — It’s a stab in the air. Aggressive, usually. But sometimes a desperate plea: Look. Understand this.

Open palms — Vulnerability. Honesty. Or a gesture that says, “I have nothing left to hide.”

Hand on chin — Not just thinking. It’s stalling. It’s delaying. It’s “I’m about to say something that might get me in trouble.”

╰ Posture and movement

These are your vibes. How someone occupies space says everything.

Slumped shoulders — Exhaustion. Defeat. Or someone trying to take up less space because they feel small.

Upright posture — Not always confidence. Sometimes it’s forced. Sometimes it’s a character trying really, really hard to look like they’re fine.

Pacing — Inner chaos externalized. Thinking so loudly it needs movement. Waiting for something. Running from your own thoughts.

Tapping foot — Tension. Irritation. Sometimes a buildup to an explosion.

Leaning in — Intimacy. Interest. Or subtle manipulation. (You matter to me. I’m listening. Let’s get closer.)

╰ Touch

This is intimacy in all its forms, comforting, protective, romantic, or invasive.

Hugging — Doesn’t always mean closeness. Could be a goodbye. Could be an apology they can’t say out loud. Could be awkward as hell.

Handshake — Stiff or crushing or slippery. How someone shakes hands says more than their words do.

Back patting — Casual warmth. Bro culture. Awkward emotional support when someone doesn’t know how to comfort but wants to try.

Clenched fists — Holding something in. Rage, tears, restraint. Fists mean tension that needs somewhere to go.

Hair tuck — Sure, flirtation or nerves. But also a subtle shield. A way to hide. A habit from childhood when someone didn’t want to be seen.

╰ Mirroring:

If two characters start syncing their body language, something is happening. Empathy. Chemistry. Shared grief. If someone shifts their body when the other does? Take notice. Other human bits that say everything without words...

Nodding — Not just yes. Could be an “I hear you,” even if they don’t agree. Could be the “keep going” nod. Could be patronizing if done too slow.

Crossed legs — Chill. Casual. Or closed-off, depending on context. Especially if their arms are crossed too.

Finger tapping — Time is ticking. Brain is pacing. Something’s coming.

Hand to chest — Sincerity, yes. But also shock. Or grounding—a subconscious attempt to stay present when everything feels like too much.

Tilting the head — Curiosity. Playfulness. Or someone listening so hard they forget to hide it.

Temple rub — “I can’t deal.” Could be physical pain. Could be stress. Could be emotional overload in disguise.

Chin stroking — Your classic “I’m judging you politely.” Often used in arguments between characters pretending to be calm.

Hands behind the back — Authority. Control. Or rigid fear masked as control.

Leaning body — This is the body betraying the brain. A tilt toward someone means they care—even if their words are cold.

Nail biting — Classic anxiety. But also habit. Something learned. Sometimes people bite because that’s how they self-soothe.

Squinting — Focusing. Doubting. Suspicion without confrontation.

Shifting weight — Uncomfortable. Unsure. Someone who wants to leave but doesn’t.

Covering the mouth — Guilt. Hesitation. The “should I say this?” moment before something big drops.

Body language is more honest than dialogue. If you really want to show your character’s internal world, don’t just give them lines. Give them a hand that won’t stop shaking. Give them a foot that won’t stop bouncing. Give them a mouth that smiles when their eyes don’t. And if you’re not sure what your character would do in a moment of fear, or love, or heartbreak, try acting it out yourself. Seriously. Get weird. Feel what your body does. Then write that down.

the intimacy of being a weapon. your body is an extension of their power, your words an extension of their will. you are made significant in the way a gun is only dangerous with a finger on the trigger, and a blade only swipes through the actions of a swordsman. to have one end of yourself fit perfectly, comfortably in their hands while the other sheds blood. you are given purpose because of them, and they are given strength because of you.

Finally now that the comic is fully public on comicfury, I get to share it with all of you here, too <3

If you enjoyed, please consider supporting by buying a PDF of the comic on itch.io: https://tawnysoup.itch.io/home-in-the-woods

Would you still love me if I were a worm but for a dog

Would you still love me if I were a worm,

Which is to say, would you still love me if I couldn’t take you on walks Which is to say, would you still love me if I couldn’t feed you Which is to say, would you still love me if I didn’t play with you Which is to say, would you still love me if I didn’t kiss your head and pet your fur Which is to say, would you still love me if I didn’t serve you?

If I could provide you nothing, would you still come to me tail wagging Place your head in my lap, lick at my lotioned legs, Whine when I ignore you, chase me when I run from you?

Or would you find someone new, someone who could give you all those things And more. Would it even hurt for you to leave me, or would I be an afterthought? I’d like to think you’d never leave my side, no matter what Man’s best friend and all.

We’ve been together for so long, not us two but humans and canines. When we leave for the stars will you come with us? I’d take you with, I’d take you anywhere I went.

You were made to serve us, but it is us that serve you To a dog, man is God And who would worship a God if they could give no boons, answer no prayers, quell no storms, bless no harvests Which is to say, I don’t deserve your worship 

Someone once said that humans are a dog’s whole life while they’re only a chapter to us. What a terribly sad thing to say. You deserve a whole novel

You give me so much and I give nothing in return I weep into your fur and you wait patiently, I injure myself and you try lick the wound to help I lag behind you as you run and you slow and look back waiting for me, I step on your tail and you cry but immediately forgive me, I hold you as you tremble from the thunder that I can do nothing about

I know this is a  Dog eat dog world, so I would not feel betrayed If you stopped loving me So I ask again, would you still love me if I were a worm?

I Saw the TV Glow(2024) dir. Jane Schoenbrun // An Apartment on Uranus by Paul B. Preciado

A rabbit begs a fox to not be be eaten

Little rabbit, with soft white fur like fresh fallen snow, Where are you running to?

Big fox, I’m off to the bakers, to the beavers, to the beach by brewery lane, And you aren’t welcome.

Little rabbit, I am as kind as a cool summer wind soothing a fever, Why am I not welcome?

Big fox, with your big jowls and teeth, you will eat me whole Slurp up all my bones. 

Little rabbit, never in my life for I love you so You quick footed spirit I cannot catch.

Big fox truly? Truly with your corn eyes, your bone teeth, your sunset fur Do you truly love this little rabbit?

I always have and I always will Little Rabbit. You have a big heart Fox. Bigger than you and I. ......................................................................

Big fox, where did you run off to? I couldn’t find you in the stream, in the strawberry bush, in the shadows of the sycamore tree.

Little rabbit, I was not far, not far at all. I went to see if the hedgehogs had any bread to spare during this harsh winter.

Big fox, thank you for trying, thank you loving me, Though my fur is falling out, I’m all skin and bones, and I don’t have much energy for anything these days.

Little rabbit, but of course and thank you for still loving me, Despite my yellow teeth, and patchy fur, and growling stomach

Big fox, I will always love you, You promised not to eat me and even though we have little you have yet to break your promise.

Little rabbit, I never will. Big fox, now come lets see if we can find any berries.

......................................................................

Little rabbit, I am sorry for what I must do, But my stomach can’t survive on love alone and this winter has been so cold.

Big fox, you promised to love me forever,  You swore it under the eucalyptus tree, under the Everdeen bridge, under the everglowing moon.

Little rabbit, can’t you see? My stomach aches so badly, my body feels so weak, my tongue has not tasted meat in so many months now.

Big fox, eat someone else! You can’t eat me, I'm terribly thin like you and I wouldn’t taste great.

Little rabbit, you will do, you will do. Curse me not for what I do, curse my nature as a fox.

Big fox, so that’s what it is? I am the rabbit and you the fox so I must run and you must chase?

Little rabbit, yes such is our way. We were deluded to think it could be otherwise

Dealing With Executive Dysfunction - A Masterpost

The “getting it done in an unconventional way” method.

The “it’s not cheating to do it the easy way” method.

The “fuck what you’re supposed to do” method.

The “get stuff done while you wait” method.

The “you don’t have to do everything at once” method.

The “it doesn’t have to be permanent to be helpful” method.

The “break the task into smaller steps” method.

The “treat yourself like a pet” method.

The “it doesn’t have to be all or nothing” method.

The “put on a persona” method.

The “act like you’re filming a tutorial” method.

The “you don’t have to do it perfectly” method.

The “wait for a trigger” method.

The “do it for your future self” method.

The “might as well” method.

The “when self discipline doesn’t cut it” method.

The “taking care of yourself to take care of your pet” method.

The “make it easy” method.

The “junebugging” method.

The “just show up” method.

The “accept when you need help” method.

The “make it into a game” method.

The “everything worth doing is worth doing poorly” method.

The “trick yourself” method.

The “break it into even smaller steps” method.

The “let go of should” method.

The “your body is an animal you have to take care of” method.

The “fork theory” method.

The “effectivity over aesthetics” method.