#baby steps and progress is still progress

[isagrimorie]

I think the events on the Road is the first time, in a long time, where Agatha has to face repercussions of her actions, and sit with them.

The moment Jen tried to break the binding spell Agatha unknowingly put on her, Agatha tried to joke it away, her favorite defense mechanism. But Jen put her whole heart breaking the binding and even Agatha’s instinct to joke, to minimize something that scared her melted into seriousness.

I don’t think Agatha’s ever had to stop and really face the damage she caused. She’s always running towards the next thing without stopping to think. As intelligent as Agatha is, she doesn’t really think about consequences of her actions.

Getting trapped in Wanda’s hex has shifted something in Agatha but Agatha isn’t ready to do anything about it. She lived two centuries taking out her grief and anger onto the rest of the world, it will take her some time to cross the line but as Jac Schaeffer said in the House of R interview, Agatha did make progress by the end.

Death is just the beginning for Agatha, it’s not an end, it’s just a different state of being.

All these events is going to change Agatha, she’s been stuck in the anger phase of her grieving. She’s taken a tentative direction towards acceptance but she’s still a long way to go.

(Agatha still has three centuries of her other issues to unpack.)

But a step toward something, even baby steps is still progress.

[dreamscapeee222]

Music Block

Yoongi x reader

Masterlist

Fluffy drabble

Your boyfriend wasn't particularly in the best mood today. You already know why since you've been with him in his studio for most of the day. Your hours had been spent catching up on missing assignments and replying to emails while Yoongi's had been... staring at his laptop with his arms crossed.

A low groan had caught your attention causing you to look up at him. He had been in the same position since you took a break 25 minutes ago and still no progress, it seems. You gently sighed and then got up to walk a few steps towards him, removing your laptop and leaving it on the sofa in the process.

Hearing your steps he looked up, smiling softly at you, his eyes crinkling.

"Hey baby."

You smiled back, and looked down to situate your gaze on his lap before lifting your head back up again to meet his. Your smile grew even more when Yoongi teasingly rolled his eyes and patted his legs.

You were comfortable as soon as you had sat on him. Your arms wrapped around his neck and you studied his face for a moment, eye bags. He's exhausted. You angled your head down to lock your lips with his. A small sweet kiss shared between you both until you pulled away then your hands found his hair to massage.

"You having a hard time with your music today, love? You've been out of it for a while now. You okay?"

Yoongi sighed deeply for a moment before another was held in silence. You patiently gave him time to answer, there was no rush.

"It's just... I'm having a little mind block lately. Nothing has been written down or produced for the past week. Feeling a bit... annoyed now I would say but I'm okay, baby. It's all right."

You nodded at his words. You knew exactly what he meant, anyone would if they'd been burnt out from overworking. Knowing your boyfriend, he's a workaholic, always so focused on making the best melodies the world had ever known. Always working hard doing what's best for him, for BTS, for ARMY, for you.

The universe had written his story of music before the beginning of time. The words carved onto the stars, ensuring his destiny when he arrives. It had obviously done him right, never wrong of course, but rest is important.

Your fingertips trailed across his chin, tickling him a little causing the corner of Yoongi's lips to twitch the tiniest bit. Leaning your forehead against his, you kept your gaze locked, eyes filled with gentle concern and understanding. Yoongi's eyes softened further, the tension in his brows easing slightly as he took in the warmth of your presence.

"Let's take a break," you suggested. “Even just for a little bit. You need to clear your head, and I’m not going anywhere.”

You slowly nod your head, eyebrows raised to seek his agreement to your idea.

Yoongi’s smile, subtle but undeniably genuine, appeared once more. This time, it reached his eyes, which glistened under the studio lights with gratitude and affection.

"Yeah, I'd like that. I'd really like that, baby."

You widely smiled at him agreeing. You pressed your lips against his forehead for a sliver of moment before you spoke, "Aren't you just the luckiest boyfriend in the world, right now? You have me, your wonderful lover to take care of you, a partner as beautiful as me to look after you. You've practically won the lottery ticket. Don't you agree, hm?"

Yoongi laughed at your teasing antics. He'll never get enough of it, maybe for the rest of his life.

"Yeah yeah. You're cute. Just stop smiling at me like that."

Requests may be made. Only SFW. Surrounding BTS only at the moment.

[aparticularbandit]

@oriharaizayadividesintoslytherin - i made progress on banditnanza, and here are your extra words from witch hood!

“Get out,” your papa growls.  When you start to leave, he continues, “And take that…that thing with you.”

You don’t know what he’s talking about.  Your brow furrows, and you look up, following his pointing finger to the crib now behind you.  “My sister?” you ask, confused.  “You want me to take my sister?  But I…but I don’t know how to take care of a baby!”

Your papa glares down at you.  His hand is covered in bandages.  That’s your fault.  (It isn’t, it isn’t.)  “I don’t know what kind of spell you cast on her—”

“I was only trying to help her!  She’s better now!”  You grab your baby sister and hold her up.  “She’s just like she was!”

Your papa yelps again, raises his hands in front of his face, and tries to step backwards.  “The eyes of a monster!” he yells out.  When he steps back again, away from both of you, he slips and falls, lands in the bones of what you expect was once his wife, except you still aren’t looking.  He lets out another, louder, more pained howl.

Your sister is crying.

You hold your sister to your chest and run from the room, run from the house, run from the town.  You don’t know where you’re running, but you run and you run and you run.

It’s not about going somewhere, because there’s nowhere to go.

It’s about getting away.

for 10/30

@wizisbored - your words from dr haruhi crossover!

The summer progresses as expected.

Junko just isn’t there half the time, which pisses Haruhi off to no end, and when she is there, she’s got her boyfriend with her, which isn’t much better.  It doesn’t take up her whole mind, and it’s not the only thing she’s thinking about, because she isn’t thinking about it at all, thank you very much, but it’s noticeable.  Every time Junko isn’t there, she’s off.  Every time Yasuke is there, she’s mad.

It’s supposed to be the best summer ever – it’s the only summer they’ll have as first years, and they should be making the most of it!

But it sucks.

[iguessitsjustme]

An Appreciation Post of Sorts 5/?

[poseidonsbitch]

hi i'm gonna smack the hornet's nest real quick and ask a question about opinions on US politics, specifically kamala harris:

i've seen a mixed bag of opinions here in regards to harris. some people say she's our only hope, others say she's a do-nothing centrist. i think she's incredibly centered and playing everything as safe as possible, which is not my favorite thing... but i also understand what she's doing; while she doesn't set my leftist heart alight, she seems to be casting as wide a net as she can. she's not my favorite, but i guess the question is what other choice do we have?

if you're very much not rooting for harris (which i get) to the point that you're not going to vote (and this is where i get lost), what are you waiting for? what's the ideal here? i really don't want to come off antagonistically here, this is not being asked in a safe, holier-than-thou liberal way. i see posts fairly criticizing harris, and i guess i just wonder that if you're not voting for her, what's the ideal action that you would like to take? what do we want? what do we think will be the most effective way to make progress?

i really would love discussion here, please let me know!

[sunnibits]

hey, if you have arfid/any ed/any food sensitivity issues in general, do me a favor and reblog this and tell me these in the tags!: (as many or as little as you’d like - this is just for fun :))

- your current favorite safe food

- your favorite food in general

- one food that you can always manage to eat no matter what (if you have one!)

- one food that isn’t currently safe, but that you WANT to like or think you would like if you tried it

- the most recent new food that you have tried, and did you like it? (I’m so so proud of you either way!)

[neurospicylife]

Only people who have been there will genuinely understand the fear and anxiety that comes with finally standing up for yourself after leaving an abusive relationship. It's the scariest and most frustrating feeling ever.

Feeling over it enough to actually say or do something but having the automatic fear response triggered and feeling everything you felt before. No amount of pride from others, pride in yourself, or positive thoughts can stop or alter that automatic feeling. The feelings of being scared about what is coming, the second-guessing what you said or did, the frustration of that person still being able to do that to you even years later, and the self-blame that it ever happened in the first place.

I wish I had the answer to fixing it, but I don't because I'm still dealing with it. People, even therapists (yes, I study psychology and am seeing a therapist), will give all sorts of advice, and none/only some of it will be helpful. It's a painfully slow and painful process, but we take baby steps in the right direction. Just like baby steps, we will fall back, and it will hurt like hell. We will question everything. But just like babies, we WANT to take the steps. We WANT to be fully walking independently. So we get back up (even if it takes a while) and start stepping again. Unlike with babies, there isn't a standard timetable of when you should start taking those steps or even master walking independently; it happens when you are ready to start and with time, patience, and self-compassion.

I say self-compassion and cringe because I honestly have very little self-compassion. One thing that has been helpful (to get the little bit I have) from my therapist and my amazing partner is thinking of what you'd say to someone you truly loved who was going through what you are going through. It's easy for our brains to think of all the people who would tell us to just get over it or that we were still playing the victim, but this that what YOU would say to someone? I'm going to take a guess and say that you wouldn't. You would likely have compassion for that person because you understand what they are going through, and you, very likely, know what you'd want to hear from someone talking to you.

If you have made it to the end of this post and you relate to it, I'm sending you the biggest, tightest hug possible. You are not alone in what you are going through. Many of us understand. And I want you to remember that the subjective severity of the abuse does not invalidate what you experience because of it. Abuse causes trauma, and trauma has a spectrum of impacts on our lives, none more or less valid than the other. Keep taking those steps and working towards that goal of walking independently. Hugs!

(Oh, and to those truly supporting a loved one who has been through abuse, your support does not go unnoticed. We may not be able to express what it means to us, but we notice it. You don't have to have all the answers or fix us; just be there as we take those steps. And remember to take care of yourself and your mental health while in this process. It's a kinda cliche statement, but we are in the process of putting our own oxygen masks on, and you need to do the same for you. Hugs to all the people sticking by through it all!)

[maranull]

you know what? i look too nice to go stealth tonight

i'm too annoyed with this whole situation and this is just a trip to the psychologist

also i look good goddammit >:(

[asteria-argo]

if y'all catch me totally changing Keeley's entire plot in TATBP with no elaboration mind your own business.

[snailfen]

the gourmand experience thus far: rotundness

[swordsonnet]

unstoppable force (my desire to write) meets immovable object (my chronic illness)

[dragonbornphoenix]

Motivation! I'm going to print this and stick it where I can see it. Also, I completely suck at time management and this is definitely going to make a difference. Thank you! 💖

STOP

Every time you see this post on your dash, open up your WIP and write one sentence. It doesn’t matter if the sentence is good, makes sense or works perfectly with your story. You can go back to edit it later. 

Congrats, you made some progress on your WIP!

Make sure to reblog to help fellow writers make progress on their wip!

[kittykatinabag]

Research question for the neuroscientists: Does alcohol's effects on the brain mimic dopamine's effect on the brain?

Yeah I know there's the whole thing about inhibition and lower of cognitive barriers, but I'm talking like the molecule level. Like whatever passes the blood brain barrier with alcohol to make the brain act this way, does that molecule/signal/whatever look suspiciously like dopamine because my god the delusion I get when I'm drinking feels like the few times I've overloaded my system with dopamine/oxytocin etc but with blurrier vision.

I single out alcohol because well, I've never done hard drugs and the few times I've smoked weed makes me paranoid and anxious. Its only alcohol that's made me feel this way, though I'm sure harder drugs would too but my family does tend to have a history of functional addiction so I try to avoid most drugs. Honestly don't even drink that much now-a-days either, at least not to the levels that I did back in 2019.

[arolesbianism]

Impulsively read the most recent Kanade story and oh boy. Hooo boy. Thoughts and feelings

[mightbeamustelid]

aggressively shaking myself by the shoulders and telling myself that the reason my art doesn’t look the way I want it to is because I’m finally trying knew things!! It’s not just shitty animal jam lineless art anymore!!! Im actually trying new brushes and new ideas!!! Trying to stick with things and not giving up when it doesn’t work out the first time!! That just because it doesn’t look exactly how I want doesn’t mean I can’t be happy with it!! AAAAAAAA!!!

[orcelito]

Tally sitting On High watching June Bug poke around

She's not being aggressive at least, even if she's being needlessly militant about watching