An Ode to LessWrong

Beneath a smiling moon, friends gather around a fire, each one a different kind of strange unique being. At the top of the illustration are the words: "But first things first, let's build a fire," and at the bottom: "For we've planned a lot and now we're tired."

(Epistemic status: intuitive, emotional)

I am so happy I got to experience a timeline in which we can all be together

last year a wizard friend of mine brought me to a portal known as LessWrong. I jumped straight in, and since then, have found myself in a forest with the most magical of beings

I met an elf with pink hair and deep kindness in his sadness

I met his dark-haired friend with the mind that tames dragons

I met a poet who’d escaped death and freed himself of fear

I met a man of dignity who treated me as he would a pearl

I met a journeyer with the gift of soft and listening presence

I met a princess who seemed of snow but surprised me with her warmth

I met a cartographer of the soul, mild in manner but extraordinary in thought

I met a fairy with a gift for friendship, an inimitable mind, and infinite positive regard

I met a gentle witch who felt alone despite her husband’s presence

I met her husband too, a wizard-king in his dark kingdom of attachments

I met a vibrating orange cat in a place I thought I’d find no colours

I met a far-eyed trickster spreading the airs of mischief across the continents

I met a spirited young wildcat so golden he seemed almost invulnerable

I met a wild-haired bard I could not quite follow, but who still reached me through his poems

I met a man who held a mirror to my face, showing me my beauty before his own

I met another woman, one with more soul than anyone I know, whose poetry of being suffused the way she spoke

I met a magnanimous lonely lion who believes himself a robot, who had someday taught himself he needs no-one and everyone

I met a lonely king whom I might, in another timeline, have given my love; instead he gave me a key I’d lost somewhere, which unlocked everything

I wonder what other beings I have yet to encounter

P.S. My loves, if I have not mentioned you, please don‘t be hurt; it just means I do not know what kind of magical being you are yet