Even in the harsh and constant brightness and noise of our current human world, blotting out the darkness that makes stars visible, unearthing the darkness of the seed and the grave and the ore-vein, tearing veils from the private and the intimate, the darkness inside us abides nonetheless.

I sing a blessing for the light and the good act of bringing it life in the dark. I sing a blessing for the dark and the good act of bringing it life in the light. I sing a blessing for the miracle of knowing both and their gifts. I sing a blessing that they last within me and beyond me.

🔥🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️

If I could make hand-dipped tapers when I was nine you can absolutely do it.

Holographic, clearly. The hands phase right through them.

I absolutely need to wash that peanut butter off *very thoroughly*.

(I'm allergic. 😆)

May we be wise in our planning, but may we refrain from borrowing impossible hindsight from futures we cannot be certain of. How it turns out isn't available to us from here; may we act anyway, with principle, compassion, courage, and resolve. May we be sufficient for the tasks before us.

🔥🕯️🕯️🕯️

I choose to start. I choose to have faith that something can grow from starting, however that endures, grows, succeeds. I choose to do the work of hope and keep doing it without waiting to see how it turns out. "How it turns out" is a luxury for afterward, and there's fires that need lighting now.

... if it doesn't go into the potentialities intrinsic in having an extensive and variable number of limbs I shall riot.

You have achieved legendary legal cryptid status, it would seem.

This unsubtle season is full of heavy-handed metaphors and narrative overreach and sentiment that steers wildly between the campy and the guileless. So let's get wild with it. Gather up all the schmaltz and cook with it and feed each other. Gather 'round the fire. Fortify each other. Get big.

🔥🕯️🕯️

I am eternally baffled by the people who think that social media is for "combating the right" as opposed to "yelling about unhinged porn, cats, the awesome book we read/wrote last week, and our current neurodivergent hyperfixations".

They're a bottomless well of people who must be fun at parties.

Currently writing a bunch of stuff with one character with supernatural compulsion powers and another character who kinks on it.

... they do a lot of "beg me to use mind control on you and I'll consider it." (The first character does Not Want To Be His Mother about it, she used her power to abuse.)

We did booze-filled chocolate bottles for the parents the shutdown year.

It gets dark so early, this far north. And it's been a hell of a year. But here we are. Thank you for holding on, friends.

May we last as long as we need to. May we be enough. May we pull together, and not be pulled apart.

Somehow, may we bind up what is broken so it can heal.

Chag sameach.

🔥🕯️

They would have to perceive each other first and that is the tricky bit to negotiate. ;)

(Though honestly Oldest is remarkably outgoing for an autistic introvert. Especially if marching band, Stray Kids, or reptile care are available topics of conversation.)

They are extremely handsome, aren't they.

I showed this thread to them and got the response, "My thing is I fear more being perceived than I care what people call me."

Ahahaha that is *exactly* Oldest's pronoun preference, it's good to know that the Ugol principle is confirmed to hold.

As you can see @just-travis.bsky.social one of these boys has reason to be very aware that he is made out of meat. :)