when you're younger you make fun of it because it seems boring but one of the best parts of getting older and maturing is recognizing how simply lovely all that cliche shit is. sunsets really are so endlessly satisfying. the hint of lilacs in the breeze really is soft and delicate and sweet. sometimes it feels good just to successfully clean the sink, to find an affordable appliance in the color you've been wanting, to try a new recipe, to finally get through that one television series like how you've been meaning.
it seemed stupid because they tell you - it'll feel quick - but it does feel quick. when i was younger it was like time was molasses. i couldn't get out of there fast enough. all the eras of my life stretched out into taffy. but then you are 29 on a walk with a friend and you both just stop to smell the lily of the valley at your feet. you are both standing there, quiet, enjoying the simple moment of peace.
they say it gets better a lot, which used to have no meaning to me. better for me was undefined and daunting. but here is one way it got better without me trying - a few days ago i was walking my dog and stopped to stand in a sunbeam, turning my cheeks up at the shaft of golden fairylights, the dustmotes in the wood all shivering their little dancing bodies. a stranger stopped and kind of cocked her head and said basking? and i laughed nervously, already moving to get out of her way. instead, she said can i bask with you? and we stood there, full adults, a soundless hum in our chest. when the clouds came back over the sun, we made that awkward small talk - yeah i didn't expect it to be this chilly! and haha spring allergies are comin'.
and you pour yourself a cup of tea and are delighted when you measure the sugar ratio perfectly and you manage to parallel park correctly on the first time (probably because nobody was looking) and yoga really did help your lower back mobility and brown paper packages really do tug on your heartstrings and you love sweaters and furry blankets and watching your little potted plants grow one new and shining leaf and you want to find your younger self and say. yes, i am nostalgic for summers that bent like wheat and were buzzing with low energy and sleep. but darling. adulthood gets better because the time condenses into a prayerbook of your own psalms, these tender beautiful memories. it gets better because things become prettier, gentler, kinder to you - somehow. without you even noticing. you just get to the top of the hill and you realize - oh, this is the thing i've been missing.
social justice barbarian
Never met a nazi they wouldn't punch.
Never met a cop they wouldn't call a nazi.
Treats the soft animal of their body like a lance
to the heart of a tyrant.
Their anger is a gift from God–
it transubstantiates.
social justice necromancer
Reads her history.
Says their names.
Goes through cemeteries
leaving flowers, grave-borrowing tactics.
Coaxes the spirits from their beds
to let them dance; we realize
we have always been beautiful.
social justice rogue
Unplucks the landlord's tapestries at night.
She covers her face, she code-names,
wipes the prints from her hand
after shaking. She's a lot.
A blade in the dark that daylight can't soften.
She hums a mantra called mission;
it's all the warning you'll get.
social justice bard
Makes his sincerity a lute
and plucks fingers raw upon it.
Has brass knuckles on the inside of his throat.
Knows what to say to soothe
the scared guy sleeping rough,
to make the officer laugh
instead of shove.
social justice druid
Gives you grace and space to grow.
Makes a weird balm to calm your hurts.
Turns into a panther once a day
dispensing courage;
turns into a dove once a day
dispensing peace. Serves the world
from the half-empty vessel
in their heart.
social justice warlock
Sold her soul to do DEI
for a Fortune 500 company.
Walks each day through thicketed razors,
carving footholds in a hill of glass.
The job takes its pint of blood so slowly,
it is possible to believe
she doesn't feel it.
social justice paladin
Always knows the words.
Is afraid of what will happen
if they forget them.
It's not an excuse, but it is sandpaper,
truths nailed into the shoebeds.
They're implacable
from the outside.
They can't believe I would love them
without their fury.
social justice cleric
The people tell her, "Your mouth
ruined our movement. You suffer in silence
all the time–what's one more?"
She believes in a love whose demands
cut friends and enemies alike.
She cleanses, sad surgeon.
She is martyred twice.
From the ground where her tears fall,
a perfect flower grows.
social justice warforged
Has a fuckin' truck!!!
He rolls up to mutual aid
and the people rejoice at his truck.
He is become a mover of things,
a Christ-bearer: mattresses and gasoline,
the girl who needs a ride across the state.
She says bless you, bless your truck,
and his heart swells.
He never knew he could be so needed.
social justice giant crab
Strength +1. Intelligence -5.
She is a crab. She has 13 hit points
and claws for hands–
but she can breathe water and air.
She knows what the surface looks like
from underneath. She carries wisdom
in her crab body that the arc of the universe
will always bend to rediscover.
Don't you get it?
That we all have gifts to give?
I had to explain the concept of fanfiction to my therapist today and much to my surprise she thought it was so amazing, like it blew her mind. "How creative! How cool! And there are whole communities for this? You all read each other's stuff? You just write for each other?! For FREE?!"
You can always tell when misinformation is from TikTok. It's genetically distinct from other internet misinformation. It always has the vibe of "some very online people having an argument where they had to take a real source and stretch their interpretations like two dogs fighting over a side of pulled pork"