kids remind me, often, of the things i've taught myself out of.
i have a big dog. he looks like a deer. he is taller than most young children. while we were on a trail the other day, a boy coming our direction saw us and froze. he took a step back and said: "i'm feeling nervous. your - your dog is kind of big."
goblin and i both stopped walking immediately. "he is kind of a big dog," i admitted. "he's called a greyhound. they are gentle but they are pretty tall, which is kind of scary, you're right. their legs are so long because they are made for running fast. i am sorry we scared you. would you like us to stand still while you move past us, or would you feel more safe in your body if we move and you stay still?'
"oh. i didn't know that about - greyhounds. i think i ... i want to stay still," he said. at this point, his adult had caught up to us. "i'm nervous about the dog," he told her, "so i'm - i'm gonna stay still." she didn't argue. she didn't make fun of him. she just smiled at him and at me and held his hand while goblin and i, with as wide of a berth as we could make, crept our way through.
behind us, i heard him exhale a deep breath and kind of laugh - "he was really big, huh? she said it's because greyhounds have to go fast."
"he was big," she said. "i understand why that could have made you a little scared."
"yeah. next time i - next time do you think i could maybe ask to touch him? when - i mean, next time, maybe, if i'm not nervous."
later, going to a work event, in the big city, i stood outside, trembling. my social anxiety as a caught bird in my chest. i took a deep breath and turned to my coworker. she's not even really my friend yet. i told her: "i feel nervous about this. i am not used to meeting new people, ever since covid."
she laughed, but not in a mean way. she said she was nervous too. she reached her hand out and held mine, and we both took another deep breath and walked in like that, interlinked. a few people asked us - together? - and i told the truth: i feel nervous, and she's helping. over and over i watched people relax too, admitting i feel really kind of shy lately actually, thank you for saying that.
the next time i go to an event, and i feel a little scared, i ask right away: wanna hold hands? this feels a little dangerous. i hesitate less. i don't hide it as much. i watch for other people who are also nervous and say - it's kinda hard, huh?
i know, logically, i'm not good at asking for help. but i am also not good at noticing when i need help. i've trained myself out of asking completely, but i've also trained myself to never accept my own fears or excuses. i have trained myself to tamp down every anxiety and just-push-through. i don't know what i'm protecting myself from - just that i never think to admit it to anyone.
but every person on earth occasionally needs comfort. every person on earth occasionally needs connection. many of us were taught independence is the same thing as never needing anything.
each of us should have had an adult who heard - i feel nervous and held our hand and asked us how we could be helped to feel safe. no judgement, and no chiding. many of us did not. many of us were punished for the ways that we seemed "weak".
but here is something: i am an adult now. and i get nervous a lot, actually. and if you are an adult and you are feeling a little nervous - come talk to me. we can hold hands and figure out what will help us feel safe in our bodies. and maybe, next time, if we're brave, we can pet the dog that's passing.
early criminal minds (seasons 1-5) is so fucking funny if you think about it from the perspective of literally anyone that the BAU interacts with outside of each other. to recap what’s going on, let’s go over the team. We’ve got:
Elle Greenaway- murderous bitch who maybe murdered someone in cold blood (claimed self defense but who can prove that?)
Spencer Reid- a genius with both mommy and daddy issues who looks like a fourteen year old TA and does magic tricks whilst, at some points, zooted off his ass on dilaudid
Jason Gideon- man who screams at crime scenes and lays down in blood stains
Derek Morgan- calls their tech analyst like “ugh mommy shove that nice hot information down my throat”
Penelope Garcia- the aforementioned Information Mommy, who talks to the team (specifically morgan) like a phone sex operator trying to make enough to cover rent
Jennifer Jareau- bubbly blonde woman who yells at TV reporters and kicks ass
David Rossi- rich, elderly, famous crime novelist who DEFINITELY should be retired
Emily Prentiss- goth lesbian who DEFINITELY has cursed folks out in one of the many languages she knows
Aaron Hotchner- tired workaholic man, trying his best to hold this shitshow together, also beat a man to death
like, can you IMAGINE??? it’s the worst week of your life. Some madman is running around, i don’t know, killing folks and cutting off their nipples or something, and this absolute clown brigade rolls up like “ah yes, just another Tuesday for us lmao” and start asking you questions about what kind of dirt this murderer had stuck to his shoes, and then they SOLVE THE CASE???? what the fuck must you be thinking at that point
attractive men in complete despair has gotta be one of my favorite genres of man.
Jenny Slate, Stage Fright (2019)
i have so many thoughts about the ending of Narnia, when they fall back through the wardrobe and into the spare room.
What does Narnia think? When their kings and queens vanish? Do they wait for them, the same as they wait for Aslan? Do they think they've been abandoned? Do they search tirelessly? How long does it take for them to give up hope, if they ever do?
And what about the Pevensies? How do they handle suddenly being thrown back into the past? Do their memories blur? Do they struggle with being children again, when their hearts and minds are already so grown? Do they turn to a friend only to remember that they're not there? Do they whisper to trees and ask animals their names and wait in silence before remembering that this is not the world they know?
Does Edmund flinch at Turkish Delights, or the brush of winter? Does Susan ache when someone calls her gentle? Does she ever miss the weight of her bow? Does Peter miss the weight of his sword? Does Lucy ever hear a song and think of Tumnus? Do they all stand straighter, mindlessly keeping their crowns balanced before remembering they aren't there?
Do they struggle with the harsh lack of magic in this new-old world? Do they dream of Narnia and wake up in tears, a hole in their chest that nothing can really fill?
They spent a lifetime in that world, fighting for it and ruling it, learning the laws of magic and royalty; is that something they ever forget?
"Well done, you just decapitated your grandfather."
i’ll start: “i’m a god you dull creature!”
Anyway adults saying “I don’t know isn’t an answer” is part of the reason I learned to lie and bluff so well.
Me when I enter a new fandom and am fond of a character: Awwwww babygirl!!! i love you so much you are my new favourite character of all time!!! here I have a gift for you!!!!! *headcanons them as aro/ace spec*
Rewatching SGA has taught me two things about Todd:
1. He's really good at getting imprisoned and
2. he's really bad at keeping a Hive ship in one piece.
tfota be like:
enemies, to rivals, to held at knifepoint, to captor/hostage, to allies, to enemies, to lovers, to amiable work associates, to in a long-distance relationship where you are neither explicitly nor epistolarily involved with one another due to one of you being held at the bottom of the ocean against your will, to husband and wife, to EXILED, to in a long-distance relationship neither explicitly nor epistolarily involved due to one of you being completely unaware that your exile was a joke and the other of you having a treacherous letter-burning mother, to enemies, to "what letters??", to "jude nO!", to being in a long-distance relationship where one of you is captured by your murdering treasonous father and the other of you comes to save you but you kick him in the balls by accident because you thought he was a common ruffian, to uncommon ruffians, to being mistaken for a spy and shot, to falling from the ceiling onto your husband’s dinner party, to "that's my wIFE!", to slapper/slapee, to wanting to make her scream, to friends, to lovers, to making her scream, to snake, to chopping off his head, to hugging, to High King and High Queen of Elfhame, to family and Faerieland and pizza and stories and new beginnings and scheming great schemes :')
no rest for the wicked but the wicked is an emotional unstable asexual biromatic disaster with abandonment and daddy issues who instead of going to therapy reads unholy amounts of platonic soulmate AU's on ao3 she/her 18
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