#i want to cry seeing what we've devolved into

[pakeithpsy]

You know what, I'm just gonna fuckin say it (cw: Israel/Palestine, police brutality)

When one singular black person died y'all and the rest of the Social Media Warriors™ were out there rioting in the streets, smashing windows and setting fire to the establishment and attacking random passerby but when THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS of Palestinians are dying your only solution is to yell "SWIPER NO SWIPING!" into the void on Not-Twitter and forcibly shove horrific, graphic images of human suffering down my throat while offering no actual solutions to prevent further atrocities from happening other than worthless boycotts of every single company in America that are all doomed to fail because it's basically public knowledge at this point that CEOs are vile, irredeemable filth obsessed with greed and will gladly lay off hundreds of their employees just so they and their shareholders can buy another yacht yet y'all seem to think we live in A Christmas Carol or Steven Universe where all it takes to convince heartless, selfish, genocidal monsters to change is to sing a dopey little song about "feewings" and they'll immediately see the error of their ways and repent.

You are not radicalizing anyone, you are desensitizing people by harassing us for not spending every waking moment of our lives watching death and destruction while giving us no sense of hope or ways to prevent this from happening. I know what's happening, I FUCKING HATE IT, IT'S DISGUSTING AND INHUMANE, but what am I supposed to do about it? It feels like nothing will actually help - boycotts will only punish innocent employees and rich assholes with way too much money can immediately undo all our hard work with the press of a button. It feels like we can't do anything to prevent this and anything we can do doesn't matter because we're trapped in late-stage capitalism where rich and powerful people can do whatever the hell they want as long as it benefits them personally, rest of the world or even basic human survival be DAMNED.

Happy fucking Independence Day. Probably the last one we're ever gonna have before congress brings back dictatorships and church and state. This country is a fucking embarrassment to humanity and you people are a bunch of hypocritical, self-righteous blowhards who don't believe any of the shit you actually say and only want to be on the "right side" of history to make yourself feel better about the fact that you've done nothing meaningful or worthwhile with your life and that we're all fucking doomed because we had to treat the 2016 election like a fucking reality show because the memes were too damn hilarious. What a sick joke. Australia has an arts program that is giving hundreds of struggling artists the funding and platform they need while our country is destroying all our breathable oxygen in the name of not having to pay artists. Fuck this country and especially fuck all you worthless loudmouths who have done nothing but spout meaningless words while refusing to take any action out of fear of scraping your knee. You've been shouting "FREE PALESTINE!" when all you really wanted was Free Attention. The pandemic was a sign from God that He was sick of our shit and we should have let Him finish us off before we could make things worse.

[angelpuns]

Kid Leo Blurb

Another Kid Leo blurb for the "Reunion" Arc!! Enjoy!!

“ there's an idea. Let's just throw Raph off a waterfall again,” Donnie chuckled, taking a sip of his drink. 

Leo gasped, quickly covering his ears. He didn't wanna hear about that. It sounded scary! 

Even though Raphie was okay now and they caught him- what if they did it again and then Raphie got hurt! 

It would be all his fault because he couldn't unlock his powers…. 

“ Donnie…” (Raph)

“ what!? It's what Leo would have said!”

The room went quiet at that, the mood darkening. No one said anything for a moment. 

Until Leo piped up. 

“ I don't want Raphie to jump off a waterfall..” He murmured, eyes still red from crying before, “ that sounds really scary…”

Mikey gave him a comforting pat on his head, smiling softly, “ don't worry, Lee, we're not gonna let Raph do that again!” 

Leo nodded, scrubbing at his face a bit. 

Draxum cleared his throat a little.

“Might I point out that you all had also been training at the time,” He reminded, “ and had already been channeling your mystic powers through my weapons, so it wasn't too far of a jump to make,” 

“ perhaps Leonardo just needs a bit more training to-”

“WE’VE BEEN TRAININ’” Raph cut him off, slamming his hands onto the table and standing to his full height, “ IT'S JUST ABOUT ALL WE'VE BEEN DOIN’!” 

“Raph..” (Mikey and Donnie?)

“WE’VE BEEN DOIN’ ALL WE CAN AND NOTHIN’ IS WORKIN’! “ His voice warbled, hands clenching and unclenching. Raph scrubbed at his eyes and sniffed, voice weak when he spoke again. 

“ I just….I just want my little brother back….” He whimpered, tears slipping down his cheeks, “ Raph is so tired…I never got to-”

He devolved into sobs, burying his face in his hands and slumping back down into his chair. 

Leo stared with wide eyes. He'd seen Raphie cry before. Of course he had. Raphie was sensitive and kind and the bestest, nicest big brother ever. 

And Leo had made him cry. 

It was quiet for a moment before April hurried to get up and hug Raph tight around his neck, rubbing his shell comfortingly. Mikey let out a long sigh, his voice shaking. 

But he didn't cry. 

“ We're all just so tired, Barry….we need help” he murmured, “Training hasn't worked and…abd I'm not sure its going to. I don't know what to do anymore….”

Draxum sighed, setting Hus mug down and running his temples. 

“ right…no training, then. For now, anyway,” he murmured, frowning faintly, “ Donatello, you can give me all the information you've gathered and we'll work from there.”

“ your own abilities needed some sort of emotional catalyst to be unlocked, but we have the time and the resources now to try something else,”

“perhaps we can utilize a spell that allows us to see into Leonardo's mindscape. it will take time and preparation, but we should be able to see if there is anything blocking his ninpo”

Leo had barely been listening. He was thinking about Raphie jumping off the waterfall. And how Draxum said he needed a ‘cat-list’. He didn't really know what that meant, but he needed to do something scary to unlock Hus powers. 

If Raphie could do it, so could he! 

It sounded really scary, but everything was really scary right now. He needed to unlock his powers. 

“ what's most important is that Leonardo trusts you all. So we need to be forthright with him about the process, even if it frightens him,” Draxum continued. 

Leo was already up and out of the room. He had a plan. It was scary, but he had to try. 

He had to try for his family. 

[ass-sassafras]

Tw: talk of suicide attempts and suicidal ideation.

I'm in a weird place right now. I bit the bullet and told him I don't want a relationship with him or anyone. He was sad and said I'm his best friend. It was amicable but both of us were sad. Then he went against his word and just "wanted a couple of beers." Well, Tumblr we all know what happened then. He finished off his six pack very fast then started on the wine he bought for me that I didn't ask for. We then proceeded to have a night of him screaming at me, calling me names and being as nasty and immature as possible.

The next day I said if he brings any alcohol into the house, I won't be giving him a few weeks to get his shit together and move out, he'll be moving out immediately with no money and a non-working car.

I had a cup of coffee and then went to look for yard sales so I can buy myself a bike. While I was out he sent me a text saying he feels like such a fool, and he's sorry for everything, everything. He said I deserve so much better.

In the end, he seems to understand that although I don't hate him, I'll never trust anyone again. He was my last attempt after my divorce to see if I could have a healthy relationship. I can't. It's not just the aromantic asexual part of me. There are deep psychological issues that are part of who I am. I need as much control over my life as possible, I need peace and I need to know what to expect.

I'm really going to miss him, but I'll only be missing the person he is 10% of the time, maybe 20% on a good day. But even if he checked all the boxes (responsible, stable, good for my kids, funny, nice to me and willing to compromise, no temper) I would still want to be alone. He started to cry at one point and asked if I can hug him. I did and we just sat on the couch and cried together.

We've been really honest with each other now that we know it's over. I admitted that I have been researching the least painful, most effective ways to kill yourself and this led to an odd but very honest conversation about suicide and how much the world sucks. He's had 2 serious suicide attempts that put him in the hospital before we met. I've never tried but the thought has been my shadow for most of my adult life.

He's the only person with whom I can have a frank discussion and be 100% honest. He doesn't want me to kill myself, but he knows what it's like to look toward the future with such deep feelings of hopelessness. I hate guns and I've never touched one, but I told him about how I went in to the local gun shop (Indiana USA so they're like cockroaches) and asked about prices and background checks. He was surprised and told me he didn't know it was getting that bad. I told him I know that when I talk about it, it just makes me feel worse and worries the other person.

I'm afraid that if I talk to my family about it, they'll either use God as motivation because they think I still believe, or they'll freak out and try to get me into a psych ward which I'm sure won't help and I'll be charged thousands of dollars that I don't have. But at least they'll feel like they did their job because suicidal thoughts make people uncomfortable. They just want them to go away as soon as possible.

This was supposed to be an update post in case anyone on here has read the shit I've posted about my so. Devolved into other stuff.

So in summary I will soon get to know what it's like to be single as an ace. We'll see how this goes.

[dipperdesperado]

Forspoken and False Progress Under Neoliberalism

Sorry for interrupting the regularly scheduled programming. Time to rant. Warning: this will be unstructured and contain a lotta conjecture. Hope you're not coming to this expecting some cracked academic theory or dialectical analysis; not gonna get it here.

So today, one of my most anticipated games, Forspoken came out.

I mean, look at this, looks cool, right? I was excited as hell since not only did the gameplay look insane, but it's literally a black-woman isekai storyline. I mean, if that doesn't sound awesome, I think you might need your ears checked. So, I was locked in from day one.

Then, I came down to earth and started to get worried. There was nary a black woman in sight for the actual development of the game. A japanese team, a Wonder Bread set of writers, and some very concerning statements in interviews. Stuff started to look a tiny bit bleak, but I mean, the game still looked how it always did, so I was like... you know what, I'll keep my head up.

Then, we get to The Discourse™. As someone who's been playing games my whole life and loves them dearly, I freaking hate "capital G" Gamers. Like, from gamergate to just general twitter behavior, the overlap between loud gamers and weird takes is insane. Once Forspoken got some more coverage, and we see the story a little more clearly, things just started to devolve. Like, the stuff that's going on today, the reason I'm writing this, is a perfect example of it. If you look on Twitter today, a lot of the stuff relating to the game will be the fact that the dialogue is "cringe" and "marvel-like". I like, don't necessarily disagree, but it seems kinda suspicious when just like a month ago, everyone was fawning over that High on Life game, which feeds heavily into an even more, painfully cringe comedic writing style.

Is it that it's cringe, or is it that people are more critical of this game because of its representation? If that seems like a stretch, don't worry. The game has been called woke too. Even if people don't say the quiet part out loud, implicit bias is still bias, ya dig?

It's so hard to talk about this specific game. Like, it seems like a woefully uneven game, that would be a really interesting subject for measured discourse since it does some really unique things with the movement, combat, and background of the MC, but also falls into pitfalls with how those pieces come together.

I think the thing that bothers me the most about this is the fact that there is some high-ass standard that this game seems to need to be achieving in the eyes of its fans that other games and media just don't. When people are overly critical of things that spotlight marginalized people, it can be hard to not want to torch their critiques. Like, everything gets muddied due to the fact that there's no consistency with what the supposed issues with the object are, and how those same issues go unnoticed in other objects. Again, people did not do this in masse with Deadpool, devil may cry, or any other thing that has this kind of dialogue.

I want to make it clear, if you dislike this stuff wholesale, then great. You're not who this is about.

Now, onto why I think this happens. One of the biggest issues we have with any conversation relating to social injustice is the conversation around responsibility and equity. Whether it's reparations, paying more taxes, DEI training, asking for accommodations, or the n-word, all of these issues revolve around equity and who's responsible. In our prevailing social arrangement (see the tin), people think that we've reached the peak. As in, racism has been solved, people are tolerant of others, etc etc. I think "I don't see color" perfectly encapsulates the issue with the discourse around identity. People think we live in a post-racial society, even though none of the work has been done to interrogate the root of the society such that the incentives for hierarchy and domination become fully untenable. Since everyone (for the most part, and in theory) have the same rights "on paper", why would we need to specifically spotlight voices that were marginalized "in the past"?

What then happens is that since we live in a time that is perceived to be better wholesale than other eras of destitution, it feels like an affront to freedom to try to disrupt "equal opportunity" by asking for "special treatment".

This is goofy. Like, the vapid nature of capital leads to a veneer of progress while under the surface, shit is the same as it was before. You can't get a haircut and become a new person. You just might feel brand new.

I think that in a funny way, this splits in both directions with Forspoken.

On one hand, the conversations around the game, implicitly or explicitly, highlight this faux-post-racial society, where everyone has the same opportunities in theory, but in practice, your results may vary. We'll let you have a game with a black woman as the lead, but we won't involve black women in the creation in a way that is meaningful and liberatory, since "it should be applauded that you're on the tin". But, since we have all of these racist biases and misogynoiristic machinations against black women, as gamers, we're going to look at it with a fine-tooth comb and draw out issues that interestingly enough apply to other games and shit we like but it wasn't an issue then for some reason. Hm. Strange.

As far as the devs go, I mean... a lot of the character stuff is what you get when the people represented aren't involved in the creation of the work in any meaningful way. I'm not going to get into the MC's background and stuff, but that shit is actually cringe and makes the "hip-hoppity walk" quote hit home forreal.

The point is, neoliberalism sucks and will probably be the death of civilization as we know it. Until we're able to truly create meaningful change instead of performative acknowledgment (I'm looking at you, thoughts and prayers), we're going to continue to get people that are less and less informed about the world, the closer they are to privilege.

I apologize if this is poorly structured or incoherent. I was just writing as I go because I was upset. Usually, I wouldn't write from this emotional state, nor would I let Twitter nonsense get to me, but I just wanted to lean into my emotions for once and vomit something out. Anyways, if you got anything out of this, great. If not, I'm sorry. I'll get you a cookie or snack or something.

[lighthousenewsnetwork]

In a surprising twist that has shocked pundits and pollsters alike, Americans across the nation are reportedly "giddy with anticipation" for the upcoming election season. Citizens from all walks of life are clearing their schedules, stocking up on popcorn, and preparing their best political zingers for what promises to be the most divisive and acrimonious electoral cycle in recent memory. "I can't wait for the attack ads to start rolling in," exclaimed Sarah Johnson, a 34-year-old accountant from Ohio. "They're like mini-action movies, but with politicians! Who needs Netflix when you can watch Senator Smith accuse Representative Jones of wanting to steal Christmas and kick puppies?" Political analysts are hailing this unexpected enthusiasm as a breakthrough in civic engagement. Dr. Harold Bickering, a professor of Political Science at Partisan University, explained, "For years, we've been trying to get people interested in the political process. Who knew all it would take was the promise of relentless character assassination and family-destroying arguments?" The upcoming election season is expected to be a boon for the economy, with several industries reporting record pre-orders. Noise-canceling headphone manufacturers are struggling to keep up with demand, as citizens prepare to block out the opinions of their loved ones. Meanwhile, the market for political merchandise has exploded, with everything from MAGA-branded toilet paper to "Feel the Bern" fire extinguishers flying off the shelves. Social media giants are also getting in on the action. Facebook has announced a new "Unfriend Tracker" feature, allowing users to keep a running tally of relationships destroyed over political disagreements. Not to be outdone, Twitter has unveiled its new slogan: "280 characters of pure political venom." Family gatherings, once dreaded for their potential to devolve into shouting matches, are now being embraced as competitive events. Thanksgiving dinner has been unofficially upgraded to an "Olympic-level event," with families across the country training rigorously to out-argue their relatives. "I've been practicing my eye-rolls and preparing a spreadsheet of my cousin's past indiscretions," said Tom Baker, a 28-year-old graphic designer. "This year, I'm going for the gold in the passive-aggressive comment relay." The entertainment industry has taken notice of this shift in family dynamics. A new reality TV show, "Family Feud: Election Edition," is set to premiere next fall. The show will feature families torn apart by political disagreements competing to see who can make the other side cry first. Early focus groups have described the show as "delightfully horrifying" and "like watching a train wreck, if the train was filled with your entire extended family." However, as the election draws nearer, a shocking twist has emerged. It turns out that average citizens are actually dreading the upcoming electoral bloodbath. The only people truly excited for the impending chaos are politicians, media executives, and the manufacturers of antacids and blood pressure medications. "Nothing sells like outrage and division!" exclaimed Chuck Ratinggrabber, CEO of a major news network, while gleefully rubbing his hands together. "We've got wall-to-wall coverage planned for every gaffe, scandal, and angry tweet. Democracy may be dying, but our ad revenue has never been healthier!" As the nation braces for impact, citizens are encouraged to embrace the madness. Political scientists recommend stocking up on family argument bingo cards and preparing a bunker of neutral topics for emergency de-escalation. Remember, folks: in these trying times, it's important to stay informed, stay engaged, and above all, stay angry. And don't forget to vote, because nothing says "democracy" like choosing between two candidates you've grown to despise equally. May the least objectionable candidate win! #AttackAds #ElectionSeason #FamilyConflict #Politicalhumor #Satire

[nefskullcritique]

I did a deep dive into this blog and like.. I keep thinking occasionally "maybe someone could talk bones out of this shit and into finding help" but. man. some of this goes past like, stupid 14/16 year old HS drama and just devolves into fucking horrendous stuff. The situation makes me feel a certain way (negative) when I ponder on it, and it has the same vibe of how people describe horrible things as being a car wreck you can't look away from. I think I got back to 2019ish in the archive before deciding I've seen enough to make a judge of bones' character; they're very much stuck in the past and can't move on emotionally; I'd personally say at this point they do not WANT to move on because this attitude gets them attention and that is what they want, not dissimilar to a fussy child crying crocodile tears because they don't get what they want. But that's just me and my armchair psych self dissecting a very strange individual who has had around 6 or 7ish years to grow up and has refused to.

we've TRIED to get them to seek help themself but they refuse to. they are never going to change and they do not see what's wrong with their behavior.

[paradoxesofgalaxies]

I don't know what's going on but maybe writing will help...

We're just so on edge all the time. Ready to jump out of my skin at any moment. Struggling to sit still, stay in one place, but with no direction on what to do.

And underneath it all a deep sorrow, a crying child. I want to help. I want to run away. How can I even help? I don't know how to reach them. I don't know how to help them.

So I run away by always having something else to focus on. But the running isn't working anymore. Even amidst the distraction, i can't escape the aching sorrow in my chest.

I know I shouldn't run. I need to stop trying to escape. But I don't know how. I'm so scared that if I stop, I'll be buried beneath it all. I'm the product of us breaking. They dug too deep, asked too many questions, and broke under the weight, shattering apart. I'm here to keep us going. I'm here to be the day to day so we can function. I came out of the mess we had devolved into. Unable to function on even the most basic level. And we've come so far. The people around me now rely on me for things again. I maintain our home. I have friends and laughter and things i look forward to.

I don't want to break like ones before me. I'm scared that learning more will break me. The outline of what i don't know is becoming more clear. It's getting harder to ignore the picture being revealed. And i don't know if I can handle seeing the hidden parts.

I'm scared.

But how can I abandon the crying child? How can I continue to turn away from this hurt child who's trying to share with me?

I don't know what to do...