#‘progress’ if you can even consider it that. if you can even consider me not being fucking idiotic a possibility.

[twenty-qs]

You know, one of my favorite under-the-radar interactions in Arcane is actually between Jayce and Vi.

On paper they have…literally nothing in common. One’s the golden boy science nerd, plastered all over Piltover as the symbol of progress, who has actively made decisions on the Council that made life in Zaun worse. One’s a bruiser who cut her teeth on the streets of Zaun, and then prison, as Piltover did its very best to forget she ever existed. They’ve had maybe, like, one actual conversation, in which Vi called him ‘pretty boy’ and Jayce looked deeply uncomfortable. But against all odds—they get along like a house on fire. I think Jayce is the only one Vi would have accepted weapons made of Hextech from; and I think Vi (and Caitlyn, but Vi came first) was the only person other than himself that Jayce would have made Hextech weapons for. They’re so in sync that they literally coordinate battle moves on the fly without needing to exchange a word. It might strike you as weird, at first. It’s just so improbable.

But it makes sense. Because the way they make decisions is almost the same—emotion. Impulse. Punch first, think later. Do what you think is right, and don’t wait for the world to give you permission, because it never will. They trust their gut and make snap decisions. And because the world of Arcane is morally gray, they usually regret it.

Which makes me think that some of the strongest parallels in this new season might actually be between Vi and Jayce. Arcane is about change. The price of change; the promises and dangers of change; and how people change, too. Vi and Jayce have been relatively stable character-wise. They change their minds about things, circumstances around them change, but at least at the end of s2e3, they’re still very recognizably themselves. Still punch first, think later. But the people around them have been undergoing extreme transformations.

Powder is now Jinx. Vi spent the entire first season refusing to see this, then failing to understand this. At the start of season 2, she still can’t reconcile the two in her mind—she can only conceive of them as literally two different people. Powder is dead. (I killed her.) All that’s left is Jinx. (I created her.) But the truth is that Jinx is still her little sister, is still the girl who was once Powder. Powder didn’t die—she changed.

Meanwhile, Caitlyn in season 2 is having a cataclysmic change because of her trauma and grief. The Caitlyn Vi fell in love with was brave, precise, determined—and fundamentally kind. She traded her gun away for medicine to save Vi’s life. She didn’t even hesitate. But now, all of that laser focus is being bent on revenge. Caitlyn has become increasingly single-minded, narrow-viewed, her world reduced to the target in her sniper’s scope. If you’re an obstacle, she’ll simply shoot right through you. She promised Vi she wouldn’t change, and then she hit Vi and abandoned her the moment Vi got in the way. Season 1 Caitlyn would never do that.

Vi struggles with change. She never seems to quite—grasp it. Doesn’t understand how the Undercity has changed while she was locked up, stagnant, an insect trapped in amber. She loves people with a sort of nostalgic glow. What the show forces Vi to reckon with is how far she’s willing to love someone before they’ve changed too much. She thinks it’s over with Jinx. She says she doesn’t consider Jinx as her sister anymore. But they are, they’re still sisters, of course they are. Jinx knows this. Jinx loves her sister, even now. Which means there might still be something in her for Vi to love too. But with Caitlyn, is there anything left of the kind girl who gave Vi her freedom and treated her with compassion? Can Vi still love the dictator literally waging war against her people? Should she? (Could she even stop loving Caitlyn if she wanted to?)

Jayce’s arc is just beginning in season 2, so I’m not sure which direction he’s heading in. But the parallels are already showing up. Is Viktor still in there, or is he dead? (Did I kill him?) Is it just the Hexcore using his body now, a monster that must be stopped? (Did I create him?) Jayce, too, might soon be forced to decide if he can still love someone who’s changed past the point of recognition. Or whether he should.

All this is to say that I hope we get more Vi and Jayce interactions this season. And that it’s definitely not a coincidence that we got two divorces back to back.

[esgaril]

this is much more of a problem though. Trump won, because a large number of people who claim to be progressive, who claim to care about justice and human rights looked at the warnings, at the pleas of the whole world begging to americans not to let this lunatic back in power again, because he will dismantle the democratic systems of your country and fuck up the planet while he's doing it and these people only had one question in the face of all this: what's in it for me? and when the answer wasn't satisfying enough they just shrugged and let him right back in. and I think that says a lot about the soul of america.

as long as americans see their vote as a commodity to be auctioned off to the highest bidder instead of the tool they all have and should use to nudge the country towards a path they prefer, they will never have a leftist government.

I'm very much reminded of that post about how "leftists don't vote" as it was proven right again.

sure, this election didn't show that the majority of americans are fascists, but it did show that the majority of americans can't be bothered to do the bare minimum to stop fascism without sufficient bribes. it showed that a lot of americans don't see themselves as part of the democratic process, they are like corrupt cops holding their hand out for the bribe and doing nothing if they don't get it. with attitude like that you can't expect to ever elect an altruistic government.

even now there are comments on this post about how the democrats didn't offer enough to give them the vote. there's barely a peep about the responsibility of the voters. about the fact that a vote is not just a right, but a responsibility as well. a democracy can't function without the voters doing their part. a lot of people act like a voter is just an entitled toddler needed to be coddled and catered to instead of an independent adult human being with their own morals and capability to weigh the consequences of their actions, who can take responsibility for their descisions. yes, the options were not ideal in this election. it is still the responsibility of every voter to consider them and make the best choice possible instead of storming off to pout in the corner and letting your country burn. being an adult means making hard choices. sorry if this is how you found out.

to me it seems that that's the core problem needed to be fixed first before any positive changes can happen.

to be fair to the americans it's not unique to them, every country in the world has this problem among some portion of their voters, it's just more pronounced and has much more deadly consequences in this case.

There’s not too much point in talking about the election anymore, but I think some people are misconstruing the results. 21% of the American population voted for trump. He won the popular vote with polls only recording a 43.7% approval rating, and he has never held an approval rating over 50%, something that Biden and (arguably) Harris have. He lost millions of votes from 2020 to 2024, it’s just that Harris lost millions more.

All this is to say that there is not some ‘silent majority’ of trump supporters in America. While some people will definitely be emboldened in their rhetoric and action by the results of the election, Trump was a deeply unpopular president, and is shaping up to be one again. He will enact unpopular policies that are against the will of the average American, but that doesn’t mean every American is out to get you. Engage with your local community, check in on loved ones, and maybe even take a look at local political offices in the coming few years. If you dislike the two party system, volunteer or donate to a third party. It’s altogether likely we see another 2022 situation, resentment grows further against the Republican Party, and the midterms offer a lot of opportunity to alternatives, at every level of government.

It may all feel like the end, but it’s not. We’ve been through it before, and no matter what we do, hate and ignorance will bleed through the cracks in society again in the future. It’s going to get better, but that’s easier to say if we make it better.

[rockyp77mk3]

Right my side lost and your side won. I am trying to understand but I want to know what is the big difference between the Progressives and conservatives? Why do Progressives piss off conservatives so much? We only want equality and fairness.

Thank you for the question. These questions are deceptively simple but they require somewhat complicated answers. I will try.

Oh, I am not just a conservative. I am a Constitutional Conservative which means that the Constitution is considered the supreme law of the land. It is the guide against which all legislation, taxes, regulations, and issues are judged. It applies equally to all and is therefore a protection for all. It can only be changed by amendment and is not subject to any foreign law or restrictions even those promoted by the UN.

Since I like checklists I will try to answer your questions in some kind of order.

Problem solving. When presented with a problem Conservatives try to solve it using known facts and reason. Progressives tend to use spending and regulation. I have never witnessed a Progressive try to solve a problem (Or perceived problem) in any other way than raising taxes or sponsoring legislation that further truncates our individual rights.

Control. Progressives seem to love control, either being in control or being controlled in every aspect of life. They want to tell or be told what people can own, how far people can succeed in life, what people can think, what people can eat, what people can drive, and lets not forget what people should do with the very money they earn. In that last one Progressives are content to confiscate wealth through taxes for redistribution to their liking. Conservative just want to be left alone. We want to keep most of what we earn, we want to enjoy our enumerated rights unfettered by social pressure or governmental overreach. We would like government to literally get the Hell out of our lives.

Lack of tolerance. When a progressive gets an idea they believe it to be so good that it must be shared with (Inflicted upon) others even at the point of a governmental bayonet. Socialism for instance, also limiting 2ND Amendment rights, private property rights, etc. Conservatives don't care what you want to do as long as we are left alone to do what we want to do. If you don't like guns, fine, don't own one. If you want to be a socialist fine, get fifty of your closest friends and create a commune, I wish you luck. Do what ever you like, just leave me and my rights alone.

Happiness. Conservatives seem to be relatively happy. Progressives aren't happy unless they are angry or upset about a situation that either happened over 100 years ago or is an isolated incident, or is just something with which they don't agree. Progressives aren't always right but they are always certain. In that pseudo certitude they are willing to trample any and all rights. Individuals be damned the cause is all.

The US is always wrong. No matter the issue Progressives will unerringly take the side of anything that goes against the US. Progressives will support despots, terrorist groups, rouge nations, and criminal politicians as long as those support the inherent anti US sentiment of the hard left. Conservatives acknowledge that the US makes mistakes, sometimes hideous mistakes but at our core we are generally damn good. For example, if Kamala had won you won't see too many Conservatives wanting to leave the US. We are Americans and will stay and fight to the last.

Equality. Progressive want an equality of outcome. A guarantee that all people will have the same success. They call this "Equity". Conservatives believe that equality means that all people will have a fair chance at success. That hard work, effort, and inventiveness will pay off. You can't ensure outcomes only starting points.

There are more but you get the idea. By the way, Progressives don't piss us off all that much, we just don't want you in charge.

[bird-in-the-space]

Echoes of the Unknown

You finish fixing the hologram projector. You join Bulkhead and Bumblebee along with Emily to refine its accuracy. The trip was supposed to be safe, but then Emily gets kidnapped by a Decepticon who looks like a spider.

Warnings: some mild violence, Emily getting kidnapped and Airachnid being a warning herself.

Chapter 15

-------------------------------

The day was surprisingly peaceful at the Autobot base. You were working on the hologram projector with Raf. After days of fixing, replacing damaged parts, and making final calibrations — you were at the breakthrough of finally finishing it. You were definitely going to thank Raf for all of his help in some way. 

“Alright, this should be it,” you said, closing the lid and attaching the device around your wrist. 

“Ready for a test drive?” you looked toward Raf. 

“Ready when you are,” he replied with his computer. 

“First step, input the code to scan your body,” he instructed. 

“Inputting the code,” you said as you touched on the cybertronian symbols. You understood little cybertronian thanks to Raf and Ratchet whenever they were free to teach you a few words. 

“Scanning,” you said as the device scanned your whole body. 

“Now push the button on the top to project the hologram,” Raf said and you did as he instructed. 

The device then started projecting, creating a holographic replica of you standing face-to-face with you. You felt excited to see yourself even though the color intensity was off and the hologram was flickering. You could easily tell that it was a hologram but seeing it work made you excited. 

“It worked!” you exclaimed. 

“Well done. (Name) and Rafael.” Ratchet gave one of his rare smiles. “I never thought I would ever see that little trinket operational again,” 

“It’s all thanks to our combined effort. But mostly because of your genius brain, maestro,” you said, extending your hand to Raf for a high five. He happily returned it. 

“Thought it's not fully perfect to be considered a perfect optical illusion. The coloring is off and the flickering will give it away,” Ratchet crossed his arms. 

“Those are not hard to fix. The device will only need more data to progress the hologram more accurately, but since we had to completely replace the memory core, it’s currently progressing only (Name)’s data,” Raf explained. 

“So, in simple terms, this little darling only knows how to stand at the moment?” you questioned. 

“Exactly. If we feed it more data, it can project holograms more accurately, and if we let it scan more of you in different positions, we could even make it move however we like. ” Raf answered.

“Not a bad idea,” you said. “So, I guess it's time to train this infant device into a trained hologram projector,” you stated, looking through the other settings. 

“Nerd talk,” Miko commented from the couch. 

“I think you need to give it a name. It sounds like work to constantly call it a hologram projector,” Emily chipped in while cleaning her camera. 

“Then—how about Holly? Seems simple enough?” you suggested. 

“Sounds good to me,” Raf shrugged. 

“Alright. We’re ready to head out,” Bulkhead said as he stood in front of the bridge with Bumblebee. 

“We are you headed?” you asked curiously. 

“We got an energon reading at this one place in Africa. We’re just gonna go there to check it out,” Bulkhead explained. 

“Africa?” Emily’s head perked up when she heard the name. 

“Hey, is there a chance I could come along? Africa is filled with many living wonders and I think it would be a good opportunity to do some scanning and train my Holly,” you asked, showing the device in your hand. 

“Sure. I see why not,” Bulkhead nodded. 

“Can I come along too?” Emily suddenly asked. 

“I need some exotic photos for my portfolio and Africa would be such a perfect start!” she explained, holding her camera. 

“Uhh…” Bulkhead was unsure how to answer. 

“This would help me with my assignment. So, please!” Emily pleaded with her hands together. 

“You know, I’m nearly coming for the same reason, so how about I watch over her while you do your recon? We will be out of your way and you do not have to worry about us,” you questioned. 

Bumblebee beeped, giving his approval. 

“Then… Sure. Come along then,” Bulkhead said. 

“Yes!” Emily cheered then ran down from the platform as Ratchet opened the ground bridge and you all passed through. 

After you passed through the ground bridge, you were surrounded by thick wilderness and plant life. You were intrigued as you had never been to Africa and Emily was already gleaming with excitement like a child on a Christmas shopping run. She already took a few pictures while you started scanning trees and different plants. 

“The signal is coming over there. It’s some distance away so let’s get moving,” Bulkhead said and you followed him and Bee out of the forest. 

While walking behind the two, you scanned what came your way and Emily took photos of her interests. You four soon arrived at a hill. 

Emily released a gasp.

“What?” You were nearly startled, then looked at what got her interested. You saw a pretty view of a large waterfall. 

“Victoria Falls. I gotta go take a close look,” she looked toward you. 

“How far are you guys gonna go?” you turned toward Bulkhead and Bee. 

“It’s right up ahead. It shouldn’t be too far,” Bulkhead explained. 

“Okay. I’m gonna go with Emily. Call us if something happens,” you said. 

“Be careful you two,” Bulkhead said as you went with Emily to take a closer look at the Victoria Falls. 

The waterfalls were lovely. Emily was completely invested in taking perfect pictures from where you stood while you scanned the different birds and animals that were there. You then tested your Holly, and it nearly created a perfect replica of one of the birds you scanned with the right color intensity and less flickering. 

“Nice. I guess training Holly is finally giving some results,” Emily stated as she glanced at the holographic bird. She then seemed to have an idea. 

“Hey, could you possibly make it stand steady enough? This could be a good chance to get a close-up pic,” she asked as she turned her camera toward the bird. 

“Isn’t that considered cheating? I didn’t take you for that type,” you looked at her with a ‘really’ look. 

“Nah. I just take the best out of everything. Let’s try at least,” she said. 

“Okay,” you rolled your eyes as she took a photo. 

“How did it turn out?” you asked as she frowned at the photo. 

“I guess holograms aren’t photogenic. You can see through it,” she said, showing you a ghostly image of the bird. 

“You know, we have been with the bots for quite some time now. It nearly feels like yesterday when they chased us and brought us to their base,” Emily said. 

“Yeah. It’s been really nice,” you agreed. 

“Have you given some thought about becoming an Autobot?” she asked. 

You hummed. “To be completely honest… I’ve been considering it,” you said. 

“Really?” Emily looked at you. 

“Yeah. There’s no knowing if their war will ever come to an end, but I could do small things to assist them. This is our planet after all,” you explained. 

“I wish I could do more, but I’m not a fighter, neither am I brave enough to face any serious action,” you confessed. 

“Says the bot who dared to go to a battlefield and shoot a con to save Miko,” she grinned, causing you to roll your eyes. 

“But hey… even the smallest actions can make a big difference,” she added, and you smiled at her enthusiasm.  

You then heard a loud explosion in the distance. You felt worried as that was the way Bulkhead and Bumblebee went. It sounded like a fight was going on.

“I wonder what’s happening over there,” Emily stated. 

“I think they might be in a fight. Should we check on them?” you questioned, then heard a beep from your comlink. 

“(Name). We engaged with cons. Return to base with Emily and call for backup,” Bulkhead instructed. 

“Understood,” You said standing up. 

“Come on, Emily. Time to go,” You said, but her attention was then caught on something else. 

“Look,” she pointed at something. You then saw what seemed to be a bird. 

“Let me take a picture of that one, then we can go,” she said, getting close to the bird. 

“Em!” you groaned when she already bolted toward the bird. “We don’t have the time. Come on,” you said. 

Emily carefully kneeled while watching the bird. She took a few pictures before something snapped and it flew away. Disappointment crossed her face before she then noticed that she was kneeling on something white and sticky. It looked like part of a spider web. She then looked up and saw a dark and purple cybertronian looking at her with a grin. 

She yelled when the webbing below her picked her up in the air. 

“Emily!” you said in panic when you heard her scream. 

You ran to the scene and looked up to see a female robot with legs like a spider in the trees, holding Emily in some kind of cocoon. 

“You will fit well into my collection,” she said, sliding her sharp fingers across Emily’s face. 

“Em!” you called out, pointing at the spider lady with your blaster. 

The spider lady hissed and suddenly shot webs at you. You avoided the first two, but your blaster arm was caught by the third, slamming you against the ground. You were stuck against the ground as the web was like a super clue, pinning you down. 

“(Name)!” Emily yelled as the spider lady took her away. 

You looked after them in panic before opening your com. “Bulkhead! They got Em!” you yelled while trying to free yourself from the web. 

“What?!” he replied. 

“A spider con got Emily and she’s taking her away,” you explained. 

“Oh no. Bulkhead to base! We need backup!” he called through the open link. 

You pulled hard through the web before using your sharp talons to cut through it and break free. You wasted no time in going after Emily and the spider con. 

It was not hard to track them as Emily’s screams still reached you. You arrived at the place where Bulkhead and Bumblebee were engaging with the Decepticons. The spider con ran behind the Vehicons as they rained blaster fire upon the two bots. Bulkhead and Bumblebee stopped when they saw Emily in the spider lady’s hands. 

You slid down from the hill to get closer but stayed hidden. 

“I will be taking your pet for now,” she grinned as another ground bridge showed up. You felt panic when you saw her run inside with Emily. The Vehicons followed. You quickly looked through your options and then took out your face plate. You still looked like them, so maybe you could… 

You then saw the last Vehicon run in and the bridge began to close. You set the faceplate on your face and ran as fast as you could toward the ground bridge. Bulkhead and Bumblebee seemed to have realized what you planned on doing. 

“(Name), Wait!” Bulkhead yelled but it was too late as you ran through the bridge as it closed right behind you. 

[itsaspectrumcomic]

hey! before I begin, I wanted to say how much I love your comics!! the style and palettes are really soothing, and it's always nice to read them, relate heavily, and not feel quite such an oddball!! so thanks :]

I (very recently) received the results of my diagnosis for autism and adhd (I got both, and a couple other smaller things) and was wondering what things you did differently immediately after diagnosis that helped you? I've tried things like proper organisation and cleaning, keeping on top of deadlines for college as much as I am able, and trying to study as much as I can (a levels are very stressful even though I've only just started the course, and while these solutions are what's considered "good" by the college, its not really helping me as much as I would like)

a large part of the diagnosis was dedicated to brain function (I had the privelidge of being assessed privately, so the evidence was very detailed and thorough), and I scored stupidly high on vocabulary and language study. However, I feel like there's somewhat of a disconnect between the effort I've put in on my foreign language studies and the progress I'm seeing- I'm trying so so hard to understand grammatical concepts and absorb a lot of vocabulary in preparation for some smaller tests in the near future, but I'm not seeing the reward during lessons or even with preparation. I am fully aware that with all the work and effort I'm spending, I am closer than I would like to be to a meltdown and probably burnout, which I desperately want to avoid. It just feels that although my brain is wired for linguistic study, I feel like I'm falling behind or failing

I guess if you have any advice or anything that helped you once your diagnosis was confirmed, or tips for study, I would be greatly appreciative :]

Tldr: struggling with study and fearful of failure, any advice?

hnng I remember the stress of A levels, you couldn't pay me to go through that again 🫠

After being diagnosed I started to allow myself to unmask and stim in more obvious ways. Previously my stims had generally been pretty small, like flicking my fingers or wiggling a bit, but now I allow myself to flap and rock and play with fidget toys as well and it genuinely does help release tension.

It sounds like your're working really hard - if you feel close to burnout and/or meltdowns, you might be working too hard. I also found it really hard to take breaks when I was studying (...still do) but the truth is, by not allowing your mind to rest, you're actually making it harder for yourself to learn and retain information.

So my advice is, take a break! A real break, not 'I'm gonna scroll on my phone for a bit' or 'I went to the toilet that counts as a break right'. Get up, step away from your work for at least an hour, and do something you find relaxing and fun. Go for a walk or just sit outside. Make yourself a drink. Take a nap if you need to. Try to avoid looking at screens during your break if you can. And when you go back to studying, schedule times to have regular short breaks as well (eg a 10 minute break every hour). I set alarms for mine because otherwise I forget to move for five hours.

A break allows your brain to process the information and let it settle properly. When you go back to work you'll hopefully feel more refreshed and able to take in information again. Remember, if you've just started the course, then this is a marathon, not a sprint, so please try not to overdo it and burn yourself out right at the start. Conserve your energy for the long haul.

If you're still struggling, are you able to ask for help, maybe from a friend or a teacher? A teacher could give you some techniques on how to improve in the specific areas you find difficult, and sometimes just talking through the bit you're having trouble with or not understanding can help a lot.

Good luck with your studies and I hope you take some time to rest as well :)

[carcarrot]

having another one of my job-related crises

[starrysharks]

i wonder if white people specifically white progressives realise that black people are only ever seen as their skin color first and foremost

[metamatar]

that was my attempt to analyse stuff without letting too much sectarian nonsense bleed. ok consider giving me some grace for what im about to say next i try not do this too often bc i learn a lot from anarchists on here and i think needless antagonizing is bad. i will not be saying anything stupid like anarchists are not a real threat or whatever.

i also think a lot of the recently popularised texts like desert appeal to a romantic and innocent past to return to that predates industrial society. this is a (usually orientalist) narrative that is easy to buy if you don't really live in or engage with any communities that are identified as worth only industrial extraction but not industrial society – which is where global south subsistence economies actually exist, survival in the face of brutal imperial exploitation. so you can say out of pocket shit like african subsistence economies are anarchic power relations not conducive to empire. it is also a narrative that offers absolution from the genocide that the united states is built on by placing the answer in trying to reverse time. at this point i can be accused of developmentalism but im very open about the fact that third world poverty animates a lot of my political psychology.

pretty common and less interesting reasons are that anarchism acquires a lot of former libertarians whose hostility to authority is still located in that framework of liberty as rights. it conceptualises communism as authoritarianism cf historic anticommunism. unlearning shit is hard. marxism can be unpleasant culturally, as its full of pedant academics, the menshevik turn that says never is the time for agitation, full time campists, people on whom the ussr weighs like a nightmare and traditionalists who are not merely anti fun but plenty of anti sw, anti drug reactionary strains that are anathema even to progressive socdems. who wouldn't want to be free from this baggage etc.

you'd think that i would make a quip about effectiveness but honestly i don't really know how to organise in the imperial core yet. im taking an L abt that.

have had this discussion with comrades elsewhere but anarchists are the primary vehicle for left energy only in the anglosphere, which can be attributed both to historic (cold war destruction of institutional power) and ongoing anticommunism (you cannot be granted a us visa for eg if you belong to an official communist party.) as well as the likelihood of high control electoral parties without a path to power to degenerate into cult behaviour. all the vaunted exciting organising that is associated with anarchists in the united states — foodbanks and fascist defense is often done by party cadre of so called communist parties in india all the time. movement politics is contigent on historic factors that aren't just about ideology but also about strategy. indian anarchism for eg is mostly academic or its reactionary conservatism in thrall with the gandhian valorisation of the village.

[weed-cat]

.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

Full Tech Day One pic today from kiko laureano (denizen of skid row / ensemble) & video (that's four seconds of "ya never know" playing over the static image) from & ft. marcia milgrom dodge (director / choreographer) double captioning "there might be puppets in this musical ;)" & "Well Shake my hand! Come see LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS @guthrietheater featuring @actually_will_roland's hand!"

[monards]

i know hoyo is setting up rhine to have good intent and whatever in her trying to 'save' khaneri'ah or whatever; but i REALLY hope they stay with the cruel persona thats been built up for her. because it would be so wonderful to see a character who had good intent in the beginning just get absolutely corrupted; with the inability to ever go back to that prior state purely because of what had happened. also because there is NO way in her turning back after all that shit

[vaelynx]

This discussion is dearly missing some Uncle Karl, and I say it as someone who isn't even knee deep in theory.

The first thing is alienation. Notice how the discussion above isn't filled with say, car repairmen wishing they could repair hay carts instead, or sailors wishing they lived in the era of rotten rations and scurvy. (Although I fully admit *I* wish to go back to pre-SMD electronics :P)

If you are stuck doing the job of a servant, without even the sliver of prestige and relative prosperity serving the kind of household who could afford servants provided, of course you're not going to be seeing much bad in an era where you'd likely be a subsistence farmer, because work of that nature is inherently more satisfying to a human mind. Notice how people garden in their spare time, but nobody goes to serve rude people as a way of entertainment (except for BDSM enthusiasts)

This brings in a related point that progress as some single sloped line cutting through history is utter bullshit, and for instance, the Industrial Revolution has made most everyone's lives worse for a long while before it made anyone better off. Living in, say, a victorian poorhouse, you could absolutely honestly say that your ancestors say, three hundred years ago were better off than you.

To this also adds a missing element up above and that is freedom as known necessity. Now, I might be misinterpreting this one, so any marxists are free to correct me, but I've always understood it as this: if you run out of your house because it's on fire, that's a free decision, inasmuch as dictated by circumstance - granted, you're not going to be happy at the fire but you don't feel oppressed. Now, if someone aims a gun at you and tells you to get out, I don't think anyone would consider you "free" in this example - you're subject to the will of another. Now, however, if the person aiming their gun at you knew that there's a fire starting *and* that the propane bottles in the basement will blow if we don't get out *now* and so aimed the gun at you... it was as much of a necessity as in case #1 but what changes things is that you didn't know about it. Hence. Known necessity. How does this apply to our topic? The easiest way is that direct comparison between lifestyles with the whole "You live better than kings" is a fiasco for this reason alone. Yeah, a king didn't have a TV set or a flush toilet, but the absence of one wasn't something that entered his mind. (just like I don't spend my days bemoaning the lack of a gizmotator)

Furthermore, this plays an even bigger role for the lower classes. While the situation sucks either way, I'd say it's somewhat more bearable to be hungry because the harvest was shit, than to be hungry because some asshole in corporate decided not to up your wages despite two digit inflation. Now, as per example #3 - it's hypothetically possible that the asshole in corporate is an asshole because he couldn't balance the books otherwise, but you don't know that, and so still feel squeezed. And of course, in things like service industry, most of your misery does indeed come from shitty other people ,either directly or from ways they've actively chosen to make your life more shit (say, cashiers unable to sit in the US)

So yeah, these aspects are quite important, and then there's further issues to go with the previously mentioned positional goods.

Now, not everyone can, indeed, be a general, but the biggest question here isn't so much how many winners does a society have, as much as how many losers. Because there's societies that allow you to be relatively insolvent with dignity intact, and ones who don't, and the second kind will foment discontent and upset. People being rude to service industry workers is a symptom of this - their positional good is that there's someone underneath them yet that they can vent their bile on. But, this goes for general prestige, status etc.

On a complete different end is how some positional goods have gotten grossly devalued, and/or the "market" of them became deformed.

The easiest example here is say, music skill. Easily reproduced music and the breadth of contact networks has, in a lot of ways, killed the positional good of being an "okay" musician. On one side, those with great talent can make it really big, bigger than in a lot of time, on the other, the guy playing a piano at a cafe, or playing a harmonica at the pub has gotten a very shit end of the whole deal, never mind the many many bands whose main claim to fame was that they were local. The same goes for things like writing and relative easy of translation - it's a lot harder to succeed as a "good" (but not great) writer if the works with which you compete are not just from your country, but the whole world (although the niches of the internet have perhaps mitigated this one a little). And so on and so forth, down to how being the most eligible bachelor/bachelorette in your immediate neighbourhood isn't much of an asset in the era of Tinder.

In sum total, while simplistic calls for returning to the past, either from the "left" or the right are stupid, any claim that we're living better than ever is a fig leaf over the fact we aren't even living better than twenty years ago, for most "we"'s probably reading this message, and uncomfortable truths can be discovered by looking into the past.

I think @Earlgraytay has me blocked, though I don't specifically remember having any arguments with them, but I wanted to respond to a post of theirs which asserts that I live better than *anybody* who lived in a pre-industrial society, and I will phrase my skepticism like so:

"If Plato or Alexander the Great or Gengis Khan or William the Conqueror or Leonardo Da Vinci had the opportunity to work at a minimum wage job that they didn't really enjoy until they were too tired to do anything except go back to their apartment to drink and jerk off until they fell into a shallow, stressful sleep before waking up to do it again tomorrow they would definitely do it because that's obviously way better than how they actually lived."

I'm going to go ahead and say that I don't think this is actually obvious.

I'll even say that the more names I add to that list the more facially absurd it sounds.

I don't want to go back to the past and the people who idolize the past are often deeply confused individuals.

But the result of this is a counter-movement which, rather than attempting to figure out what *aspect* of a past society might have appeal, instead simply argues that it doesn't matter because whatever it is could not possibly be more important than Spotify.

And the problem becomes massively bigger if you actually allow people to compare themselves to "Kings" rather than the working class clods of a previous time.

Yes, I live a lot better than a medieval serf. I am really, *really* not convinced that I am living a wholly better life than Gengis Khan or Alexander the Great (Let alone Socrates, Confucious or Leonardo Da Vinci) just because I have a flush toilet.

[icewindandboringhorror]

A very interesting cloud formation!

[theriverdalereviewer]

everyone jumping to team kamala we will never experience true freedom in this country

[clownsnake]

I don’t think hyeonseong needed to remember dokja’s order to think about him if something goes wrong. I think he’s just always thinking abt dokja

and I love him for that

[nyalternatehellkitten]

Nyalter's glad that the thing with Meiling worked out, she was slightly worried that Meiling might find it offensive suddenly being asked to breathe fire. She's not sure how dragons see that sort of thing.

The cat is quite impressed by the speed at which Neche sets things up, all things considered. Even if it takes a few hours, it feels like she's set up some kind of mini-workshop in record time. Nyalter doesn't really understand any of what's going on (even if she can guess) so she just watches and chats.

By the time the first few test items and tools are done, Nyalter is pretty well impressed. These are still pretty rough, but it's a lot of progress for something that happened in only a few hours.

"I think it's going pretty well, all things considered."

Nyalter holds up the first tin with her bone hand. It's cool enough to hold by now, especially with her innate heat resistance, but she still wants to get a closer look.

"I'm really impressed by how much you managed to get done in one day! But it'll probably take longer to make anything more complicated, right? I won't put pressure on you, it's not super urgent so you can take as long as you want. Do you need more time to build a fancier forge too? It's fine if it takes more than a day."

"Just let me know how long it'll take, I'll come back for the stuff. And feel free to drop by the bakery if you need me to help with something!"

Nyalter's not sure if she can help with anything, but she'd be happy to try.

Their visit to see Meiling would prove to be fruitful, showing off her fire breathing, it would be a welcome distraction for Meiling as she was clearly going through a challenge this month herself.

But helping heat some metal, that was a perfect side task. There were even left over bricks that were often used to repair the wall whenever something crazy happened at the mansion.

A little furnace could be made, and over the course of several hours, the group of them enjoying a little chatter. Catching Meiling up on Neche's arrive and what they were doing, Neche would rush back from the well where her buckets of water were.

It started with forging some tools, specifically some she could work out small imperfections with the metal. From there she'd make a chisel, scout out some good rock, and make all sorts of little things.

The end result, the first pour test for the mold she put together. Hot melted metal inside, the rock mold being pulled apart.

Out of it, rough but early baking tins. They'd need some fine care, and with this set up and some Meiling fire. Neche could make what she needed to do this a little more on her own next time.

Leaving Meiling to 'handle' some rather sultry guests, Neche would show Nyalter her work! "See see! We have all we need, this is the very first tin. It's not great, it'll back a quick cake I bet. But now Neche can even start setting up somewhere!"

"Give Neche another day, she'll have an even better forge done! But Neche wanted to show you how close she could get with just bricks and waiting on tools to finish!"