#taking up space

[thepeacefulgarden]

[radiatedblade247]

A big fat self indulgent oc x canon piece I have been working on.

[chronicsymptomsyndrome]

recovering people-pleasers say it with me:

I am not LYING, MORALLY COMPROMISED, or IN DANGER…just getting used to enforcing boundaries & saying NO.

It SUCKS that I had to live through what I did, and now that makes me feel all these negative ways as a result of positive actions. It REALLY SUCKS and it’s my reality, but it can change.

I can actually say NO without compromising my safety, security, or quality of life. It was really hard at first but now I do it all the time.

I can’t believe how much of a people pleaser I USED TO be. I’m so glad I’m NOT anymore <3

[gammaraydeath]

i wonder what it is about my art that just doesn't really generate a response. outside my core group of friends, even if a drawing gets notes, nobody really has anything to say about it. i recognize fandom regulars in other people's notes, people who seem to have compliments in store for everyone but silently reblog (or just like, or don't interact at all with) what i draw. i don't get it. have i done something to make people dislike me? or is my art just kind of boring?

[casadenovas]

for my gemini placements || mars is in your sign and it's time

sun, moon, rising, mars. this one is for you.

mars entered gemini on june 28th and if you have been feeling a shift in your energy, a sharpness, a restlessness, a sense that something in you is done being quiet, that is not a coincidence. mars is the planet of action, drive, and how you move through the world. and right now it is moving through your sign. your energy. your territory.

this is personal.

gemini placements have spent a long time being misunderstood. written off as scattered, inconsistent, too much, not serious enough. and somewhere along the way a lot of you learned to soften your edges to make other people more comfortable. to hold back the thing you actually wanted to say. to second guess the move you already knew you needed to make.

mars in gemini through august 11th is the end of that era.

this is the transit where your words get sharp and your mind gets fast and you stop shrinking to fit into spaces that were never built for you. the things you have been sitting on, the conversations you have been avoiding, the version of yourself you have been holding back, she is coming forward now. not aggressively. not recklessly. but clearly. and without apology.

the shadow here is worth naming because you know it well. gemini energy can scatter. you can start ten things, say yes to everything, and exhaust yourself before you ever land on the one thing that actually matters. mars moving through your sign is going to make that pull stronger. so be intentional with where you direct this energy. not every battle is yours. not every conversation needs your sharpest words. pick what matters and go all in there.

with mercury stationing retrograde in cancer the day after mars enters your sign, there is also an invitation to revisit. to go back over what you have been feeling and what you have left unsaid. use the retrograde to get clear internally first. the words will land better when they come from a grounded place rather than a reactive one.

this summer is yours if you want it. and i think you already know you do.

if you want to see exactly how mars moving through gemini is activating your personal chart, readings are open at casa de novas.

[madamslaytan]

I used to make myself quieter. Smaller. Less noticeable.

I thought strength meant taking up less space.

I thought love meant softening my edges until I fit.

I was wrong.

Now I stand the way I was meant to —broad in the shoulders, steady in my stance,gentle because I choose to be, not because I’m afraid.

I don’t guard the door out of fear anymore. I stand there because I know who I am.

Strong does not mean unbreakable.

Soft does not mean weak.

I can hold you without disappearing.

I can love you without shrinking.

For the first time in my life,I am not trying to be less.

If you lean against me, it will not be because I had to become smaller to deserve you.

It will be because I finally stayed exactly as I am

[the-dragon-hearted]

Me when I'm just a little too much me. Me when I get too loud and excited. Me when I get too mean. Too obnoxious. Me when I go to bed and think of all the ways I bothered someone today. Me when I wonder why I am loved.

Friends when they laugh with you. Friends when they call you obnoxious, but it's the most endearing thing they can say because they don't want you to stop. Friends when they check to make sure you're okay. Friends when they get obnoxious, and you sit there like 'I get it'. Because that's your friend. And they're happy and excited, and that makes you happy. They're loud and messy, but that's them.

Friends when they're silly. Friends when they're smart. Friends when they're creative. Friends when they're messy. When they're loud and confident and passionate and opinionated and...

Me when I think about all the times someone probably thought they were obnoxious and I thought they were wonderful. Me when I realize humans take up space. Me when I realize sometimes it's all just letting people take space. Inviting others to. Because to take up space is to exist, and I want you to exist near me. Me when I close my eyes, tuck myself in, and promise to be just as obnoxious tomorrow. Me when I hope my friends will be too.

Can we be loud together? Can we keep annoying each other? I'd like that.