they/them's the breaks!!

Do not disturb. Do not approach. Bulbasaur is sleeping!

It also means wearing things they might not approve of. Using accommodations that they might not think you need. Not falling for their guilt trips. Eating when you’re hungry, not when it suits them and their idea of your weight or health. Making your own friends instead of seeking the stamp of approval from them.

Of course, some parents are stricter than others, and some use abuse to keep you from expressing yourself. But do what you can, even if it seems small.

Otherwise, when your parents are no longer in the picture, you’ll try to find it somewhere else to get validation. A strict boss, an abusive partner, a selfish friend.

˙⋆✮ Saying "no worries!" to someone who just genuinely hurt them

˙⋆✮ Replaying a conversation from three years ago at 2am with full emotional clarity

˙⋆✮ Sending a text and then dreading the response before it even comes

˙⋆✮ Over-explaining to the point where the apology needs its own apology

˙⋆✮ Asking if everything is okay so many times it becomes the problem

˙⋆✮ Interpreting a slow reply as the end of an entire relationship

˙⋆✮ Preparing for worst case scenarios so thoroughly they almost will them into existence

˙⋆✮ The need to fix the tension in a room even when they didn't cause it

˙⋆✮ Canceling plans with relief and then feeling guilty about the relief

˙⋆✮ Catastrophizing in total silence while appearing completely fine

˙⋆✮ Being so afraid of being a burden they become one in a different way

˙⋆✮ Rehearsing phone calls before making them including possible tangents

˙⋆✮ Saying yes to things weeks away and panicking as they approach

˙⋆✮ Needing reassurance and then not believing it when it comes

˙⋆✮ The spiral that starts with one small thing and ends somewhere completely unrelated

˙⋆✮ Apologizing for apologizing too much and meaning both sincerely

˙⋆✮ Reading tone into texts that have no tone because text has no tone

˙⋆✮ Being exhausted by their own brain and having nowhere to put that

˙⋆✮ The performance of calm so convincing even they almost believe it

Gray. It's partially a cop-out answer but it's also my favorite color.

You can have your boring, non-descript sweats days but more importantly it also includes Black and White, leading to many opportunities for color blocking. Like, that's two thirds of The White Stripes' wardrobe.

I look so good in grayscale.

Rolling up to the club like Ventus Kingdom Hearts.