Ani Was Writing

    TL;DR at bottom, if you don't feel like reading. I understand not everyone wants to.  During the last few weeks, I've been keeping my head down. I pop up in a livestream chat here, maybe a voice chat on Discord there. Other than that, I've been doing my best to get Christmas presents done and maybe -just maybe- get to sleep on Christmas Eve instead of finishing up presents all night long.   Before I know it, it is the 29th. The last Sunday of the year. I've been up since Saturday. My mind has shifted from taking care of Christmas stuff to taking care of last minute journal business. The new journal for 2020 is ready to go. The old one is waiting for the last few hours of writing or drawing I can muster. I take a moment to admire the stickers on the fronts of both journals as I feel a tiny tap on my shoulder. I don't bother to register it until I feel a tiny hand on my shoulder. "Animus."   I blink and look to the source of the sensation....

Jouska: The imaginary and often lively conversation that you carry out in your head between yourself and someone else.     It is not unusual for me to experience this on a regular basis. It doesn't make me different than anyone else; I actually feel like I'm pretty normal in that aspect. There are some moments, however, where this sweet bliss of jouska demands to become more than a personal conversation. It demands to be written down on paper, or -in this case- typed out.    Here are some of the ones I've had in the last year. Specific names (either real or online names) are left out on purpose:     Look, I get it. It's hard to live your life when you really want to be with someone. But that's not all there is to this life. It really isn't. I mean, if you want to focus on that, go for it. I can't and won't stop you. But... I mean really? Come on, my dude. There are far more interesting things than spending time with another human. ...