#small steps forward are steps forward

[re-discover-communication]

My mathematical analysis prof wasn't joking when he said "if you're finding it hard to fall asleep try solving some integrals". I damn sure am getting sleepy and I've been solving integrals for not even a full hour

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Another year has passed, and with it the opportunity to reflect back on all that has happened. While my growth was not as dramatic as last year, I can still see lots of positive change.

I'll never have enough ways to say thank you for all the love and support you have given me this year. On to 2025!

(2023 summary here!)

[raining-at-ease]

[thepeacefulgarden]

[made-my-peace-with-all-the-bad]

Oh nothing! Just the fact that Brent!Darrel will hold out his hands like he’s approaching a scared animal after he slaps Ponyboy. Just the fact that Dan!Darrel looks at his hand like he can’t believe he actually just used it to hit his brother. Just the fact that Victor!Darrel covers his hand with his other one and rubs it has the guilt hits him immediately.

[bellysoupset]

"So..." Wendy yawned as she settled on the passenger seat of Bella's car, stripping her raincoat and throwing it in the backseat. They drove out of her street, the rain just starting to pelter off, "are we gonna talk about it?"

"The fact you spent two whole days in Doveport babysitting your boyfriend's sidepiece?" Bella snapped and Wendy raised her eyebrows, mouth hanging open at the unwarranted jab.

Bella probably saw her wounded look, because she cringed, squeezing the steering wheel, "sorry..."

"Yeah, damn right you're sorry," Wendy blinked quickly, struggling to regain her composure, "that was so unbelievably rude, Bella."

"I'm sorry," Bell repeated, taking her eyes off the road for a split second, "I didn't mean to hurt you, I just... I don't want to talk about it."

It being the miscarriage. Wendy sighed, deciding to cut her friend some slack given the strenuous circumstances and reached over the handbrake to squeeze Bell's thigh in an amiable manner.

"Okay, we can not talk about it, that's alright... But you're okay? I mean, not emotionally" — it was painfully obvious the answer to that question — "but physically?"

"Yeah," Bella's voice was weirdly chirpy, a tone she never used and Wendy immediately clocked as fake-happy, "I'm alright, it was like having a heavy period," she removed a hand from the steering wheel, running it through her curls, fingers getting all tangled up on the auburn ringlets, "so... Are you gonna tell me about the weekend off?"

Wendy felt a flash of viciousness, thanks to the previous comment, but she swallowed her petty response and looked out of the window as they drove to Luke and Bell's new place, "honestly it was a lot more fun than it should've been, considering the guy broke his ankle."

Bella let out a snort at that, but didn't comment and Wendy continued on to ramble.

"Vince was, of course, beating himself up over Max breaking his ankle. Severe mental gymnastics to carry the weight of the whole world on his shoulders," she rolled her eyes dramatically and Bella let out a little chuckle, visibly relaxing.

"Well, that's Vin for you," she grinned, taking an exit and drumming her fingers on the steering wheel, "he was probably worried out of his mind, he's such a mother hen."

"Yep," Wendy smiled at that, "although Max is really fine, just struggling with learning he can't use the broken foot... It's a shame you didn't get to hang out with him much at the cabin, he's so similar to you. You, but a dude."

"Hot as fuck and a little mean," Bella's smile was genuine now, from ear to ear, "I liked him, even with all the unflattering propaganda Luke was doing of him. Too bad he's four hours over."

"You talk as if it's so far away," Wendy yawned once again, "in fact, have you been to Doveport? Even once?"

Bella seemed taken back by the question, eyebrows jumping up and then she squinted as they stopped on a red light, "no, but you told me I wasn't missing out on anything..." she turned fully to look at Wendy, "did you change your mind?"

"No, the town is boring as hell," Wendy frowned at the weird tone, "but Vince is there and his family is lovely. His mom is teaching me how to cook, she's a blast. Max is a lot of fun too... Really, you guys are all holed up here, but it wouldn't kill you to go over once or twice."

Alright, now she was sounding a little mean, Wendy thought, breathing in as Bella continued to watch her in a flabbergasted manner, "Vince misses you, a lot."

There, the truth, but that wasn't her scolding Bell and the rest of their friend group for sitting on their asses and expecting Vince to always visit when they couldn't be bothered to go to his town even once. She had been subtle enough, right?

The light turned green once more and Bella looked ahead, clearly lost in thought. A heavy silence settled in the car, which Wendy wasn't sure who to blame for, since she hadn't said the quiet part out loud, and they reached a suburban area, filled with pine trees.

"Sure," Bell said, slowing down the car, "you're right. I never been there, you're right."

Okay....

Wendy raised an eyebrow, "I'm right," she echoed, the affirmation sounding like a question and Bella nodded quickly, her curls bouncing.

"Yeah, I'll go over to Doveport. We will go," she promised and Wendy suddenly wasn't so sure if they were talking about the same thing, given how serious Bell sounded.

"Alright," she agreed, confused, "good. That's great..." Wen looked out of her window, "are we here?"

"Next street," Bella's voice was all soft and Wendy was starting to get really unnerved by how out of character her friend was acting. She looked over her shoulder, just in time to see Bella open a big, genuine, smile as they entered the next street.

It was a no exit street and at the very ending of it there was a large sugar maple tree, filled with orange leaves. On each side of the street Wendy could see older, but sturdy houses, none of them too similar, but all sporting a tudor style.

"There," Bell pointed ahead, to the second to last house, "that's ours."

The pride tinging her words was palpable and Wendy felt a knot in her throat as she remembered that two years before she had taken Bella by the hand and helped her pick a tiny condo to live in after a nasty break up. How everything had changed so quickly overnight?

"Oh, it's... Great, actually," Wendy voiced, surprise tinging her words and Bell let out a snort at her tone, parking the car in front of it.

"Didn't you have any faith in me?" She teased, getting out at the same time as Wendy, "it's old, I know-"

"Yep," Wendy popped the P of the word, following the ginger down the limestone path that led to the front door. The front yard was more than overgrown, some weeds reaching about her waist, but Wendy could see the beauty and the potential of it all, "but it's pretty, I'll give you that."

"Right!?" Bella sounded terribly excited as she walked up the eight stone steps that separated the front door from the yard, "it's so charming."

"I was expecting something more... Dramatic," Wendy admitted, taking in the construction. It looked like a stone chateau, with four rounded windows facing the yard and a sunken door, two colonial lamps framing it, "I thought you'd go for a townhouse or a victorian mini mansion."

Bella wrinkled her nose at that, "a mansion? I hate doing chores, why would I get a big place?" she rolled her eyes, opening the front door, "welcome to the Martinez-Atwood home, Ms. Marshall."

Wendy chuckled at her antics, making a big show of taking her first step and Bell followed her, looping their arms together and showing them around.

On the first floor there was a spacious living room with an ancient fireplace, a small extremely dark powder room, a yellow kitchen that was probably a safety hazard with how old it was — one door leading to the dining room, the second one to a mudroom that gave to the backyard and if Wendy thought the front one was in a bad state...

"You need to get that trimmed down, you'll find a whole family of snakes there, Bell," Wendy reprimanded, refusing to step out to the back. On the living room there was a set of stairs, leading to the second floor and Bella gestured for her to follow.

Upstairs there were three bedrooms, although Wendy wouldn't call one of them a bedroom, given how small it was. Between the first two, a small full bathroom, and at the end of the hallway a much larger suite, facing the backyard.

"I'm thinking, this could be a study of some sort?" Bella pointed the small 'bedroom', "I work from home, so this would be neat. Besides, Luke has a million books..." she walked out, entering the second room, "and this one's a guest room-" the for now hung in the air, unspoken but loud and clear, so much so that Bell cleared her throat and turned away from Wendy, "so uhm... You-you better help me decorate it."

"Are you sure? I'll make it pink," Wendy teased her, but her own heart was squeezing as she realized this room was most definitely a nursery in Bell's mind. She wondered if she had known, about the pregnancy, if they had...

"No," Bella shook her head and it took Wen a whole ten seconds to realized she was answering the joke and not the unspoken question, "no pink. But maybe a dark magenta? That would be cool."

"Sure, I can work with that..." Wendy walked around, opening the ancient built in wardrobe, that looked like something out of Narnia, and then out of the window. This room faced the street, Bella's car sitting all alone out there, "Bell..."

As if hearing it in her voice, Bella's head snapped up and she shook it from side to side, "please, don't," her voice was all choked up, "I'm ha- I wanna be happy with this, please don't... Just don't."

Wendy bit down her lip, nodding and opening her arms, "can I have a hug?"

The ginger hesitated, before crossing the room and throwing her arms around Wendy... And then squeezing her so tightly that Wen's air ran out. She squeezed her friend right back, wishing she could comfort her even more than just a hug, but understanding this was all Bell could take at the moment.

"I love you," she mumbled against Bella's curls, on her tiptoes.

Wendy felt a shudder run through her friend and then a small, weak "I love you too" in return. Outside, it started to rain again.

[oneofthosecrazycatladies]

Okay I want to share good news as much as I can no matter how small.

So my dad works in commercial real estate as a property manager and one of the parking garages he manages is not ADA compliant and he finally got the building owners to agree to make renovations to make it accessible

[captainbasch]

<< We would keep your song alive Shrouded safe in soft moonlight >>

[3416]

just removed the man in the middle. im gagged

[vaguely-concerned]

there's a self-help/mental health adjacent post that's going around and it seems to be really helpful for a lot of people which is very good. I also personally hate it with all my fucking heart

[gomzdrawfr]

do you have a job outside of drawing? just asking cuz i'm looking for a job but idk fuck i want to do

I'm out of uni and can't earn my licence for my major until September or November, so in the mean time I'm doing bout 3 freelance job and drawing on the side. Though I do plan to pick up part time year end or next year.

Unfortunately I also donno what the fuck I'm doing tbh, like yeah not working and taking the time to relax is fine and healing but everything is so fucking expensive and taxes are only increasing (Malaysia set to have our taxes increase to 18%, fun) cuz of *gesture* the fucking state of the world.

If you want to have a solid schedule, do part-time. If you want to have more freedom, then freelance work. The one I'm working are cosmetic, sales and marketing and customer service with flexible hours. I'm kinda like the backup backup person? Like if someone couldn't make it to work then I chime in, sort of thing.

I do suggest having some sort of planning on delegation, because starting a job is exhausting and it can feel meaningless and more like an obligation, take some time out to do something else and reconnect yourself. Do the thing you've been meaning to do, meet up with friends, write etc.

[motivexesmotivational]

"The Power of Small Steps: Start Your Journey Today"

"Every big achievement starts with a single small step. Today’s small actions can create tomorrow’s giant leaps toward success. Discover the importance of beginnings and how consistency transforms dreams into reality."

"Take that small step today—embrace the journey and watch it lead to extraordinary results!"

🤗💖Thank you for your time. follow me for more inspiring content ---------------------- 👉Follow 👈

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[blabbershere]

Light the flame in your belly, get hungry for it. Face it straight and smile through it all. You can shed those tears once you reach the top.

— Ruth Winters / Flame

[athetos]

I wish there was a way to make my problems solely my own and not also the problems of everyone I love as well but unfortunately they haven’t invented a solution to that problem yet. All I can do is continue to genuinely try to improve and hopefully everything else will follow suit and ppl will forgive me and if they don’t that’s okay too.

[racewinner]

the ellipses... he's just like me

[dinosaurwithablog]

Good morning, everyone!! Have a spectacular day, and enjoy your life as much as you can. That's my plan. 😁😍🫂