โฆ ๐ต๐๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ต๐๐๐๐ โฆ
๐ธ Tadpoleโs Tavern Edition
Tonight the world is loud in the way it doesnโt ask permission to be.
The sky outside keeps cracking open in bright little rebellionsโcolorful, sharp, too sudden. The kind of sound that doesnโt feel like celebration when youโre the kind of person who feels everything at once. ๐
So I did what I always end up doing on nights like thisโฆ
I went inward.
Not away. Not gone. Justโฆ inward.
Like slipping into a familiar booth in a quiet tavern where the lights are low, the air is warm, and nobody expects anything from you except that you exist. ๐ฏ๏ธ
๐ค ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐ :
โ a little overstimulated โ a little soft around the edges โ a lot more grounded than I used to be โ still here โ still breathing โ still choosing not to fall apart just because the sky is loud
Thereโs something strange about nights like this.
They make your inside voice louder than usual.
Memories get closer. Feelings donโt stay in their lanes. Everything starts trying to mean something.
And if youโre not careful, you start thinking you have to solve your entire life before midnight.
But tonight isnโt for solving.
Tonight is for holding steady. ๐ฟ
๐ท ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ป๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐
Thereโs a drink on the table.
Thereโs music somewhere in the background.
Thereโs that strange in-between feeling where youโre alone, but not lonely in a dangerous wayโjust in a human way.
And the world outside keeps doing its fireworks thing like it forgot some of us are sensitive souls and not confetti cannons.
But inside?
Inside is quieter.
Inside is controlled.
Inside is mine.
๐พ ๐ญ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐พ๐๐๐๐
Somewhere nearby, a one-eyed grey cat is pretending she isnโt supervising me.
She absolutely is. Judgment: minimal. Support: conditional. Snack expectations: high. ๐โโฌ
๐ ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐๐โ๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐ (๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐)
Not spells.
Not transformation.
Just this:
staying in my body instead of escaping it
letting feelings move through without steering the whole ship
noticing what I miss without letting it drive
choosing calm even when calm feels slightly unreal
That last one is the hardest part.
๐ค ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ต๐๐๐
I used to think being overwhelmed meant something was wrong.
Now I think it just means Iโm alive in a world that sometimes hits too loud.
And I donโt need to fix that tonight.
I just need to sit here.
In the tavern.
With the lights low.
With my thoughts allowed to exist without taking over the room.
And let the night finish being what it is.









