And it was a nice yard once. A garden bed full of tulips, a lawn blanketed with small clover. A tall willow tree perfect for a child to play pretend under and make magical memories in. A cobble path winding from the door to the street. The houses on either side were just close enough that you could hear the neighborhood children laughing. Yet they are far enough that it felt like a secluded little fairy wonderland. A perfect place to settle down and raise a family.
Left to its own devices, the garden has turned brown. The small patches of crabgrass you insisted I leave be have spread all throughout the lawn. Unmaintained and uncontrolled the small patches have now grown over everything else. Each tendril of it working to suffocate the soft clover. Poking and prodding at the cobble path with ever reaching arms.
The willow tree hangs heavy with the weight of itself. Without someone there to trim it, all it can do is droop down further and further. Left alone a little longer it might have died under its own weight. So much has changed here since that day but the house... The house looks the same it did the day we bought it. The day we stood in front of it, your arm around my waist, and knew that this would be where we would raise our kids.
You deserve to be buried here my love. You deserve to wither and rot under the very same willow tree. We once imagined our future here together and I will ensure our dreams come true. I will make you a home under that willow tree. A place where you can rest soundly and watch as I raise our child.
I will rid the yard of your crabgrass. I will spare no expense in removing the evil from the very root. The blood on my hands is a necessary sacrifice for what I must do for her. Ripping up the crabgrass and replacing it with the soft sweet clover I once knew. The clover I fell in love with when I fell in love with you.
Look I love unconditional devotion love stories as much as the next person, but there's really something so deliciously raw about conditional devotion.
I have served you and I have loved you for decades, but I will not give up my principles for you. You cut out part of my heart and took it with you down that path that you insist on walking, but you walk it alone. Even when the bleeding, gaping hole you left in my chest kills me, I will not follow you.
shapeshift!
Two rules for creating anything.
1) Make it weird.
2) Make it with love.
via @b.sharise
"And what is this?" the priest asked sternly, pointing at the squalling bundle. "I...thought the vow of chastity only applied to humans?" the Paladin said weakly.
40,000 years ago, early humans painted hands on the wall of a cave. This morning, my baby cousin began finger painting. All of recorded history happened between these two paintings of human hands. The Nazca Lines and the Mona Lisa. The first TransAtlantic flight and the first voyage to the Moon. Humanity invented the wheel, the telescope, and the nuclear bomb. We eradicated wild poliovirus types 2 and 3. We discovered radio waves, dinosaurs, and the laws of thermodynamics. Freedom Riders crossed the South. Hippies burned their draft cards. Countless genocides, scientific advancements, migrations, and rebellions. More than a hundred billion humans lived and died between these two paintings—one on a sheet of paper, and one on the inside of a cave. At the dawn of time, ancient humans stretched out their hands. And this morning, a child reached back.
Kevin McCarthy losing four five six consecutive Speaker of the House votes (so far) is legitimately one of the funniest things to ever happen. This is 2023's boat stuck in the Suez Canal. Something important has ceased working for the most hilarious possible reason and we are all watching desperate attempts to get it working again while secretly hoping it does not, and I think that's beautiful
You guys just have to trust me on this one and click here okay?
Me while running a fever and doing many nebulizer treatments: I'm going to hang out with some friends!
My concerned mother: but you're sick??
Me while blowing my nose aggressively: My covid test is negative, it's fine
My very concerned mother: but you are really sick????
Me while shivering from the fever and having difficulty standing up: its not covid, I'm fine
My mother who is tired of my bullshit: no, you are staying here and doing another round of the nebulizer
Me while giving up and taking a nap: fine, but you have to turn off the light for me... Thanks...
weirdest side effect of the pandemic is how many people i know who get sick and say 'but my covid tests are negative so i should be fine' like you know other illnesses. exist. right.
“May I hug you?”
“When I ask you if you want to do something, you know it’s always okay to say no, right?”
“Let me know if you get uncomfortable, okay?”
“How do you feel about (x activity)?”
(When someone’s insecure about having said no and asks if it’s okay/if you’re mad or upset they said no) “I’m disappointed to not do the thing, of course, but I’m much more glad you were willing to tell me (no/that you were uncomfortable/etc.). That’s really important to me. Thank you.”
“I’d ALWAYS rather be told no than make you feel pressured or do anything to hurt you or make you uncomfortable.”
“I care about you, so when something I do hurts you or makes you uncomfortable, I want to know, because I don’t like making you feel bad.”
“You can always change your mind, okay? The moment you wanna (stop/go home/take a break/etc), PLEASE tell me and we’ll stop right away. I won’t make a fuss, I don’t wanna keep going if you don’t want to.”
“Wanna do (x)? It’s okay if not, but I think it would be (fun/worthwhile/prudent).”
(When starting a social phone call): “Hey, are you busy right now?”
(When confirming plans made earlier): “Hey, are you still up for doing (x) at (time) on (day)?”
“Can I vent a little about (x)?”
“Can I tell you something (gross/depressing)?”
“Are you comfortable talking about it?”
“Do you think you could talk me through this problem I’ve been having? If you have the time and emotional energy of course.”
“It’s okay if that doesn’t work for you.”
“I’m interested in spending more time with you. Would you be interested in doing (x) together on (y day)?”
“No? Well let me know if you ever want to do something else.” (leave it open! don’t nag! let it go!)
“You don’t seem very interested in this. Should we skip it?”
(When someone doesn’t seem interested in something you were suggesting) “We can just (do something you both want to do) instead.” (don’t try to get them to do the thing again! let it go!)
Give people as much freedom as possible to make their own choices without pressure or control.
Even children deserve as much autonomy as allows them to remain safe and get their needs met - remember, you can’t train a child to make good/safe/healthy choices without ever giving them choices. A child who is taught to respect consent is a child who doesn’t assault people! A child who knows they have a right to say no is a child who knows that someone who infringes on their autonomy isn’t supposed to do that.
A consent-conscious relationship is a healthier and safer relationship, and a person who is aware of and deliberate about asking for, giving, receiving, refusing, and accepting refusals of consent is a healthier and safer person.
pspspsps, Toasty, feeling too strongly about something? HAVE to tell somebody before you explode? POST IT HERE YA BASTARD.
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