veins pulsating

[alpacinou]

Hello,

When we say "I can see her veins pulsating", does this necessarily mean she is "angry", or is this a general term?

In the context of a story, if I write something like this, will you automatically assume that person is angry or is it neutral?

Does this work?

I was so close to her in the elevator that I could sense her veins pulsating.

Do you get the impression that she was angry? I don't want to convey that she was angry. I want to convey closeness.

 

[GoesStation]

Descriptions of bulging or pulsing/pulsating veins tend to go along with high emotions, usually anger, so I'd find another way to express the idea. You could always be so close you could smell her cologne. Unfortunately, as an asthma sufferer whose condition can be triggered by perfumes, I can testify that some people think nothing of wearing scents that can be smelled in the next county, so this might not be the best way to say it.

I've had a few very unpleasant public encounters with people who I'm sure are perfectly kind, sympathetic individuals. They just don't realize that their perfume can be a physical assault on some of us. I've stopped keeping quiet about it, but I have yet to find a non-confrontational way to tell them their chemical effluvium might send someone to the hospital. :-(

 

[alpacinou]

But pulsate itself does not have a negative connotation, does it?

 

[GoesStation]

But pulsate itself does not have a negative connotation, does it?

No, but it sounds rather clinical. Pulsing is a little more neutral. How about having her turn her head? Then you could feel her breath as her face passed mine.

 

[alpacinou]

No, but it sounds rather clinical. Pulsing is a little more neutral. How about having her turn her head? Then you could feel her breath as her face passed mine.

Honestly, I knew that feeling the breath thing. I wanted to practice with the vein thing. So, is this okay?

I was so close to her in the elevator that I could sense her veins pulsing.

 

[Tarheel]

Yes. That's really close.

 

[jutfrank]

pulsating is way over the top.

pulsing, less so but it's still too much in my opinion. How many times have you ever seen a calm man's veins pulsing, let alone a woman's?

 

[GoesStation]

If a woman I was standing next to in an elevator noticed I was keenly observing the skin on her neck, she'd be justified in reaching for her pepper spray. The description sounds beyond creepy. That's okay if it suits the character doing the observing, but I have a feeling it's not what you're aiming for.

 

[alpacinou]

pulsating is way over the top.

pulsing, less so but it's still too much in my opinion. How many times have you ever seen a calm man's veins pulsing, let alone a woman's?

Sometimes there is a degree of exaggeration in stories. Anyways, do you think I should forget this "vein" thing?

What about this?

I was so close that I could sense blood pumping/moving through her veins.

I'm not saying I could hear it because I know that would be weird. I could sense it. To convey closeness.

 

[jutfrank]

If a woman I was standing next to in an elevator noticed I was keenly observing the skin on her neck, she'd be justified in reaching for her pepper spray.

:lol:

With any luck, the pepper spray might overpower the smell of her perfume.

 

[jutfrank]

Sometimes there is a degree of exaggeration in stories. Anyways, do you think I should forget this "vein" thing?

Possibly. I imagine the Incredible Hulk.