#im caring but i have limits
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Character in a situation where they're kinda the third party type person while everyone else fawns over another character. They care about needy character too but it's so hard to not be resentful because when something happens to upset needy character they're the ones everybody forgets about. They're so tired of their world being forced to revolve around this character and their every whim. Bonus points if they are a natural caretaker so everyone takes advantage of it and just dumps needy character on them whenever they feel like it. They love them but they low-key wish they'd just go away.
#angst prompt#angst#just go away#leave me alone#not my problem#eye roll#crybaby#center of attention#not my fault#hello I'm still here#im still here#um hello#yes and#what do you want from me#relatable#stuck in the role#annoyed caretaker#seriously tho like#im caring but i have limits#dont take this out on me
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on a completely separate note; shizun luo binghe with a disciple shen yuan who fell into the abyss??? *thinks about LBH canonically stealing SQQ's corpse for 5 years* he'd hallucinate i think. like, like visual and audial hallucinations.
Keeps thinking he's seeing SQQ in the corner of his eyes, or wandering between the trees, amongst a group of disciples. Thinks he hears him calling for him, but its just the wind or another disciple.
Gets Xiu Ya reforged but patently fucking refuses to make a sword mound. Because his disciple Is Not Dead :))) There was No Body. He's Not Dead. And If You keep Insisting That He Is, He's Gonna Skewer You :). He's holding onto Xiu Ya so he can return his most favored disciple's sword when he returns. It's on his hip right next to Zheng Yang where it's supposed to be.
Also this motherfucker?? does not sleep btw. He has the image of SQQ, wide eyed and hysterical and standing at the mouth of the abyss burned into his fucking eyelids. Can't use the dreamscape to escape it either because he keeps trying to save him and either he does and it's an incredibly cruel trick to wake up to, or he doesn't and he gets his heart broken in several different pieces again.
There is no convincing this man that Shen Qingqiu is dead. Absolutely nothing at all. He is buried so deep in denial that moles would be jealous of how deep he is. He keeps making tea for two in the bamboo house only to remember that it's just him. SQQ's fans are hiding everywhere, little reminders of his presence. He goes to wake up SQQ on the mornings he sleeps in-- only to find the room empty.
#svsss#luo binghe#svsss au#scum villain#scum villian self saving system#shen yuan#shen qingqiu#disciple shen yuan#lbh. visibly exhausted and with twitchy eyes: im fine :) | everyone else: ho no the fuck you ARENT.#SQQ was hysterical not because he found out LBH was half-demon but bc he was having a long-awaited mental breakdown over his autonomy :)#or (limited) lack thereof. he was having a sudden onset crisis of mortality and was handling at quite literally the WORST time. oops#im thinking very hard that LBH would never push his disciple into the abyss especially with no system to force him to. so SQQ either#had to goad him into it (failing always) or throw himself in. he ended up doing it himself but not before some very impressive hysterics.#BUT ALSO. IF THIS HAD BEEN WHERE SQQ WAS THE HALF-HEAVENLY DEMON INSTEAD IT WOULD'VE BEEN SO GREAT.#and by great i mean horribly angsty bc SQQ is NOT doing too hot and has. in very SY-like fashion. convinced himself that LBH will kill him#when he finds out he's a demon. so when it comes out i have this mental image of him lunging at LBH and LBH flinches back. but SQQ wraps hi#hands around the blade of Zheng Yang and yanks it up so the tip of the blade is digging into his chest where is heart is. LBH can't yank th#sword away without risking slicing into SQQ's hands. SQQ's hair has fallen out of its tail/bun and is now messily spilling down his#back and its NO helping the kinda deranged look he has going on. he's visibly shaking and his eyes keep flittering away and back at LBH's#face. SQQ is looking at the messages from the system warning him that he has to go into the abyss or punishment will occur. he's like.#rambling though. talking about how shizun doesn't *like* unclean things and there is nothing more unclean than a demon. like he is#INSISTING. LBH can't?? get a fucking word in. actually. SY isn't listening that much either anyways. too overwhelmed with the system and#the amount of stress he's under and his crumbling mental state and the innate and primal desire to live even when he's standing in front of#his own executioner. it all ends with him sitting on the ground at the lip of the abyss with his hair falling in his face. he looks so#unkempt and fallen apart and so distinctly *non-Shen Qingqiu* that LBH feels physically ill over it. tears are streaming down SQQ's face#and despite everything he is smiling. its not a nice smile. its a very frayed falling apart at the seams about to crack smile.#he tells shizun not to worry about staining his blade with this disciple's filthy blood because this disciple will take care of it himself.#and then he falls into the abyss before luo binghe can so much as grab him. the only reason LBh doesn't literally jump in after him is bc#he was numb with shock and the abyss was already closed before he could feel his legs again :]
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I don't know what this is all I know is that LimL Joel makes me really emotional
#I know he has a tendency to go deranged on his red lives but idk something about him beginning to lose it after Jimmy died and killing Grian#joel smallishbeans#smallishbeans fanart#trafficblr#Again its his red life shenanigans but... If only Jimmy had known how affected someone was by his death. I'm choosing to believe this#and him then going out like a sad pathetic wet cat even with Grian's sacrifice... He really deserves a win one of these days lmao please#Also I cant stop thinking about how Jimmy wouldn't have left him. Grian was sensible to and most players probs would have#Joel really does become a lost cause so its fair and Grian did still care (and went to say goodbye as well as sacrifice his time for him)#But Jimmy would have stuck by even if Joel were in this state (and they'd both get themselves killed pathetically but)#And Joel having shown such genuine care for Jimmy and concern over his limited time... man anything w Jimmy makes me so emotional lol#I love them so#oh Ig about the art itself. I dont like it but hey thats how it tends to go when you try smth new. And no shame in trying#but if one person likes this then yayy I will still feel accomplished and happy#Im looking at this again and hey its not that bad actually yay I love to approve of my own art. self love hell yea#tubby art
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hugs hugs hugs (ID in alt)
#nicholas d wolfwood#vash the stampede#meryl stryfe#milly thompson#trigun#trigun maximum#and i guess#trigun maximum spoilers#i feel like i could talk forever about wolfwood’s unexpected important presence of care for the 3 of them but im also so Limited bc#half of it would be sources:just trust me#especially when it comes to meryl and wolfwood FMSMD HALF OF THEIR MAX DYNAMIC IN MY HEAD are completely pulled from those 4 panels of them#talking - its like the only scene they have together AUGHHG😭😭 But it’s fine. i love making shit up. i also think they have a good deal in#common aside from being vash’s friends (understatement) and their presence in milly's life ueeee.... and when milly BAWLED#hearing that news *explodes explodes explodes*.... anyway... this set is about wolfwood but it doesn't have to be ofc... theyre just huggin#and the 3 of them will have many more brighter hugs to share in the future#ruporas art
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universal healthcare is not broken and anyone trying to convince you it is is delusional and a dckrider for big health insurance. yes there are wait times but waiting for care is Not the same as being denied care.
in america your physician prescribes care and an insurer can still cuck you out of it because someone across the continent who has never met you can say: doesn’t seem medically necessary. Leaving you to handle a bill that is wildly inflated by the same insurers that just denied you.
let me drill it through your head you can pay thousands a year in premiums and still end up sick and financially burdened for years by One incident. no insurance company is Avoiding going broke by denying claims. theyre doing it to profit off your misfortune and your illness. Because healthcare fundamentally does not cost the amount that they claim it to be.
#delete later#out of pocket rant#i hate these god awful takes on universal health care#and i hate this oh he killed a father#how many fathers do you think uhc let die be real with me#oh 8 billion is only 6% profit margin#bitch it could be 2 percent it could be a negative loss#this is me saying oh i resold a shoe for $60 after buying it for $50 when i also made it for 80 cents#i have been denied things like chest xrays and lung exams#i btw have had a chronic cough for 4+ years#in canada i got this done on the same fking day and results back within a month#there are indeed horror stories and on both sides of know ppl who died due to delayed diagnosis#and ppl who died bc they didnt even want the diagnosis it would have cost them too much#but robbing someone of the choice in my opinion is the worse of the two#putting someone in an impossible position like that is evil#this country love god so much better start praying u stay healthy bc thats the most important thing#also like those horror stories of wait times in the er#im gonna be real if u have severe stomach pain are actively bleeding heart attack or stroke#you will be seen asap#yes if unfortunately everyone around u that day decided to have a stroke or heart attack ur appendicitis will be punted down the line#this is a resource issue NOT a cost issue#this is a they also cut funding to nursing school and limited the number of ppl who can pursue medical degrees issue#not a we dont have privatized health care issue#bc ultimately u need a doctor to see u#not someones sister who is taking stabs at it#and every doctor is bound by the concept of time???#u still have to wait in america ur Charged for it also#and yall it doesn’t even have to be a Big incident#ur local urgent care might just be closed after 8pm and at 9pm u need stitches#or have severe stomach pains and just want it checked
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You know what? You know what I think?
I think that if we lived as we were meant to, in larger intimate ("extended family") groups and with more shared labor and time to do it (UBI NOW) people like me would not feel so useless and burdensome because there would be people around to help and to do what neurodivergent people can't while making valuable space for the neurodivergent to do what they ARE good at.
The way we live right now, all right, the way we live right now forces units of two adults to be able to do EVERYTHING or PAY to have someone come do it for them. I have to do the housework. I have to do it! But I am having to do a million different things and most of them I am not good at. I suck at them.
I wouldn't feel like shit, okay, if I had more than one other person around who was not a child and who could do the things I can't, like do the yard and cook and do repairs and basic maintenance; and someone else to split everything else that I like but is too much for me. It would free me to do what I am good at and enjoy. Cleaning, as in the sink and toilet, the windows, the blinds. Taking out trash. Folding, hanging, and sorting laundry.
But because all the shit I can do often relies on other shit being done first, and I can't do or have trouble doing those things, the shit I can do often can't be done. And even the shit I can do, I can't do ALL of it. So I can't keep up, and things get very bad.
We aren't meant to live like this. We are not meant to live like this.
That thought hurts so much because being able to flee the birth family is integral to survival for so many people. I'm so afraid that living in larger family groups would create more opportunities for, say, queer kids to be isolated, rejected, bullied, and abused. But if we gave people enough money to survive, and stopped considering children the property of their parents with no system in place to help them escape bad situations except a system that is often just as bad, just different.
I'm aware that communes and collectives aren't all that successful and are kind of a joke. I don't mean that. I mean a fundamental shift to multigenerational families where taking in "strays" (which my family did) is also normalized so people escaping abuse into existing households was accepted, with these families centered in maybe a couple of different larger residences so not everyone has to buy and maintain their own fucking washing machine and vacuum cleaner, and so people can benefit from large group meals that yield leftovers, and so child and elder care can also be centralized.
Then disabled people and the neurodivergent and sick and injured people, and pregnant people, and grieving people, would not have to either labor through all those stressors or consign themselves to living off an unlivable pittance or being put under legal guardianship.
I'm not saying anything new. People live like this in other parts of the world and maybe it sucks and I am wrong. But I'm just really mad right now because I can either do laundry or clean the sink but not both, and I really think we could improve society somewhat by making it so I did not have to choose one without sacrificing the other.
#im feverish feeling (not a real fever just malaise that i have no other way to describe) from the IBS (which can affect you like that#)#and i don't actually want to do ANYTHING#i would have to even living with others but it would be easier#at the very least i wouldn't have had to clean the microwave earlier which is hard because my arms are like the size of a meerkat's#and i can only reach the back with my fingertips#where is my BF in all this?#WORKING FULL TIME WITH BACK PAIN#yes i AM going to want him to have to do as little as possible when he comes home#he's neurodivergent too and struggles with the same shit#it's all a mess#we are doing way better i didn't realize how deep a drain three very sick cats were#but there's still only two of us#if you are disabled physically OR MENTALLY you should at least get in-home household help once a week or so#there's places that do that but the limitations are usually severe and always rule me out#because im not single im not an elder im not a veteran and im not physically disabled#if we have to ration that sort of thing i can see how on the whole it is more caring to allocate those resources to for example elders#but the fact that i celebrate what help there is doesn't mean i don't get mad that more people can't access it#is2g if i was functional enough snd physically sound enough i would start a charity that did intervention cleaning for people like us#who have fallen behind and can't catch up but can MAINTAIN#and who helped people clean for a few months during and after an illness pregnancy trauma major loss etc. so they could stay on their feet
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at a certain point i think we need to acknowledge that art is very rarely created accidentally. if you can see a theme in a work than that theme was, more likely than not, at least somewhat intentional on behalf of the creator. you don't put a piece of yourself out into the world without thinking about what it means at least a little bit.
#sigh. sorry got a comment like 'nintendo creates these accidentally heartbreaking scenarios and then fans add depth' and i just.#do you really think that not a single professional adult writer on the oot writing team thought about the implications of the scenario they#were writing. do you think that all of the ways in which the world is set up to reinforce the themes brought up by that scenario are also#accidental. do you think writing is just throwing shit at a wall and seeing what sticks without any more complex thought.#do you truly genuinely think that in a game so constrained by storage & software limitations ANYTHING about that story would be accidental#it just seems like such a sad and reductive way to view art. it's like you can't imagine that anything is done in earnest.#that people might really care about the things they create. that they might be truly meaningful.#the mcuification of story analysis. we just assume that nothing has substance anymore ig. our brains are so flooded with consumerist#garbage that we assume all art is made purely for consumption and profit. ok#WHATEVER. sorry. i have this disease where im obsessed with video games as art and i hate that no one sees it like i do#personal
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a little strange to get dms from other trans people saying they agree with biden's dumb statemet that he doesnt want minors getting gender-affirming care. if you really think its such an epidemic that 13 year olds are getting their knockers blown off by surgeons every other day, then please point me in the direction of said 13 year olds that are somehow accessing gender-affirming care that literal trans adults can't even access.
like please be fr. we literally have privatized healthcare and insurance where not even people who go through the appropriate avenues can get approved for care they need to stay alive. what makes you think a trans minor is getting phallo or vaginalplasty. feel whatever you want about 13 year olds who want gender-affirming care, but dont parrot transphobic rhetoric that is based on no facts and a moral panic. they second they legitimize barriers to care for trans minors is the second they start finding ways to do the same for trans adults. dont be a buffoon.
#muerto talks#im sorry but you look a little foolish saying all that#especially as a trans person#do i think a 13 year old should get a major surgery? idk! im not said 13 year old! and neither are you!#leave that up for the 13 year olds and their team of doctors and family and friends and therapists and whatever#but limiting access to care#even if they have to wait a few years is still going to get trans kids killed#somehow intersex newborns getting their genitals mutilated to be easily categorized is not too young for such invasive surgeries#but a 13 year old is?#yeah i see whats happening here#an infant cant reject socially imposed ideas of gender much less consent to invasive surgery#but you will white knuckle whatever power you have over a child who dares to express themselves freely#i couldnt even get top surgery in my 20s without two letters of approval and several months of therapy proving that i needed this#u people will believe anything#use ur head please just for once and stop listening to the fears the moral panic spews at ys
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"I never thought you were bad. I like monsters..."
Some illustrations I did for an upcoming video I'm workin on
#deltarune#drawings#kris deltarune#deltarune kris#kris#kris dreemurr#kriselle#snowgrave#deltarune susie#susie deltarune#noelle#noelle deltarune#noelle holiday#suselle#for anyone wondering i just needed the transparent characters by themselves for what im working on#decided to give them backgrounds to post these and MAN did i have fun with those sparkle brushes#realising now i probably couldve given these more effect but i dont care anymore its late and im tired and i should be doing assignments in#yknow what yeah cut me off tumblr tag character limit i need to stfu#weird route#i guess thats a tag#beauty and the beast#like as a theme rather than the movie#deltarune art#deltarune ship
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id probably have more success as an elden ring/fromsoft artist but alas, my heart still belongs to the legend of zeldas most unpopular villain, oh well..
chapter 2 rough draft is approaching 70 pages, im confident i can start painting it this week :3
#ganondoodles talks#zelda#its both a blessing and a curse to be like what feels like the only one who genuinely cares/draws demise lol#like if it was at least ganondorf!! he has multiple games and is pretty easily recognized#anyway .. i wanted to get the rough draft done today but the weekend just has fewer hours than the work week#so .... if i can get it done this week i might be able to start painting#if painting works that is#so if i can make that happen at least it wasnt a FULL year since i started to work on chapter 2#haha ... jesus christ its really been that long#i feel like i could really use one of those openly asking for motivation posts but i have done that one too many times i feel like#they have a limit how many times you can use it and i think i realized that too late so now im just#man i sure feel like shit but thats no ones fault but mine so i shouldnt be bothering anyone#nhdkgjvndfkjgndfjk
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[ID: Bruce Wayne and Minhkhoa Khan breaking up in the rain. Bruce is in normal civilian clothes while Khoa has a white cloak on and a mask that hides his eyes. Khoa persuades, “We'll start in a small city in Southeast Asia, and systematically dismantle its criminal underworld. Out all the corrupt politicians. And then we'll go to the next, and the next. We'll build a high-tech base of operations that moves with us. We'll live well off the coffers of the gangs we dismantle. We'll expand from there. In time, maybe we could even tackle a city like Gotham. Not like boys, but like men at the peak of our skills.” Bruce simply tells him, “No.” Minhkhoa points an accusatory finger at him as his angry response has been edited to be a post by @/egirlbutternubs that reads, “But babe you love being gaslit.” END ID]
#everybody has their burdens. for example mine is constantly thinking about batman 105 and how it could have been soo good....#like this drives me INSANE.#hes trying to convince bruce to stay. to not leave him. he shouts he doesn't care about anyone or anything but is standing there#in the rain while bruce is about to literally board an airplane and hes trying so hard to convince him to change his mind#to not 'throw away' what hes been training to do. to not limit himself to just one city#like haha silly edit but the fact ghat khoa is putting his heart on his sleeve the most he ever will right here#to his one and only friend the only person who seems to understand him and then being told hes broken??#literally it's such a betrayal. its heartbreaking and infuriating. its insulting.#i have a big and better post about this in my drafts somewhere......#in the meantime i love toxic yaoi & im plagued by the idea of khoas potential in a good writers hands and how itll most likely never happen#c: batman | i: 105#crypt's panels#batman#posts from the crypt#minhkhoa khan#ghostbat
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A little promo with my little obsession on the side...........
Reminder all items are shipped from Poland - for details on shipping times check out FAQ or send me a private message!
mmezzy.bigcartel.com
#klance#halloween au#im projecting on the internet my own impostor syndrome#i feel that im awful and should be learning how to draw instead of writing shitty fics#and when i want to write a post and share a little doodle or smth - 'sorry' is right between the lines and its so frustrating#like???? nobody probably cares#im either here or im not#and if i need to finish that little abomination of a fic then so be it you'd think people wouldnt mind too much#and would still want to listen to my captions and see whatever silly doodle however silly it is as long as its true#..............but what if its all redundant#what if i cant draw after i had to flip my entire routine upside down#and will forever chase a thrill of feeling like a prolific artist and it will be always out of reach now#what if people scroll past my art and feel nothing now#what if world is filled with people who kinda hate klance but stay out of reflex and not bc its their deeply routed source of comfort#what if i reached an artistic plateau and will never be good enough#what if this is the limit of my 'talent'#what if i will forever love the projects i want to share but will always hate the execution of it wanting to fix it fix it fix it learn mor#i keep reading the little notes i get on orders#some screenshots i saved#i find good words and opinions and love letters to art as a whole#and i feel insufficient#subpar#i drew a comic about it to an old poem and still havent finished it#there is a point of trying your best when it stops feeling like a challenge and feels like a failure#its the moment where you keep going of course#and yet#there are emotions im sure nobody shares on social media bc we just try to get through them#but who else will take it better than tumblr tags#either way if im less around its because im dealing with creational self-hatred and artistic ambitions#but on the other hand arent all artists like that? i ran out of tag space btw have an awesome weekend
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Every time I remember that canon!Will Solace kinda sucks if you think about it for too long, I feel like crying. Idk. Like, what do you mean my beloved boy whom I love dearly actually kinda sucks, but the narrative ignores it and pretends like everything he does is Totally Fine??/hj
(Not saying all fanon!Will is great! He’s sometimes not.)
#im just not a big fan of canon!will ignoring what nicos said about his own limits. and just being overall unhelpful#like. sure. nico might have died if not for will but. also. will doesnt know much about nicos powers#he doesnt know much beyond that they look kinda cool and scary at this point in the story#he doesnt really have the right to make demands about nicos power (ever. but especially not then)#but in my head. i Elect To Ignore That and see will as someone who avoids medically treating his close friends & boyfriend when possible#and i imagine nico taking care of will just as much as will does nico#(eg: nico. pro napper. consistently reminding will to go to sleep before he crashes#or if wills busy. nico brings over some food when its lunch time because 100% will often forgets to eat when hes focusing on something hes-#interested in)#i just hate canon solangelo. idk#why cant rick just write a decent. healthy relationship???#will solace#will solace critical#anti will solace#solangelo#anti solangelo#nico di angelo#pjo#percy jackon and the olympians#riordanverse#rr crit
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Since we’re on the topic of video games, im tired of these fucking remakes. Ive said it before but i’ll say it again each time. These companies dont wanna invest in an actually good remaster or port and would rather waste their time with these remakes bcuz “ooh look how shiny and better the graphics look!!1!1!1” often times it has an empty feeling because everything has to be ultra realism super 6000. Its gotten so bad that now regular gamers are starting to gaslight you into playing or enjoying them. So much has been lost artistically, (like the cool UI designs) that it’s now considered “juvenile” and that i need to “grow up” and “accept it” 😂
#Being genuine and having atmosphere/lore/small details surrounding the game does a lot more.#And can we pls have built in emulators or#backwards combatibility on these newer consoles? if ur able to do all this other shit you can give us an official emulator#And ik that sometimes the developers have actually lost certain files data assets etc within the OG games that cannot be regained#But you can make an entire remake no problem🙄 it be feeling like they are getting told by higher ups “do it or else”#Im gen z and idk if its my gen or a combination of everyone regardless of age wanting these remakes all of a sudden#Bcuz i swear i remember most ppl disliked or didnt care abt them now everyone is on board with it???#No game after the year 1999 should have a remake. A rerelease or remaster is fine. But a remake? Do we really need that…#Also game design used to be cute and fun. Whatever happened to that? Wheres my clever save spots and menu screens?#Theres only a tad bit of remakes i have no problem with and even then its not “needed”#i also understand not liking smth due to its art style. But to act like majority of old games looks terrible is crazy come on now.#Why does h0rizon need a remaster and why are u not allowed to buy or download the OG version of it anymore 😐#feels like ppl think OG games are nothing when they are the entire reason#The amplified hyperrealistic my-26k-ultra-supercomputer-made-this remake exists in the first fucking place#regarding limitations of old games and consoles i could understand a rerelease port but they could just add on stuff and leave it alone lol#Emulators also exists guys….#Rant#Other
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“With Tashi, every time she does something that could be read as cruel or manipulative or playing a sort of game,”
“I do think it’s always also coming from a place of her trying to get not just what she needs, but what she thinks these other two people need too—and to take care of them in a way that she feels resentful for having to.”
“But she’s not shirking her responsibility, she’s taking her responsibility of taking care of them very seriously.”
“She has entered into this dynamic somewhat willingly. It’s never the case that someone is doing something for just one reason.” (Justin Kuritzkes on Tashi’s motivations)
#can you tell i really enjoyed this interview#this reads as a very art-centric post because of limited image space but of course she’s taking care of patrick too#when she says art should beat him it’s also for patricks benefit. when she keeps patrick waiting (during the kiss) it’s for his benefit.#when she tells him he always loses before the match is over / crashes in the second round / (youre not my coach) well someone needs to be.#even the way she tells him (in an arguably soft and kind tone voice) that breaking art won’t make him#she cares! she gives a fuck! she hates that she gives a fuck! and most importantly: she can be wrong too!#they all have such intrinsic knowledge of the other two while still being completely out of their depth in how to FIX them#a three person fumbling. but the love was there!#anyway#im normal#challengers#tashi duncan#patrick zweig#art donaldson#🎾
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what does it mean when people say stuff like individual morality or action is incompatible with class analysis or class struggle?
alright so like one of the key ideas about class analysis is the idea that classes (as a whole) have economic interests that affect all their members but don't extrapolate out to an individual analysis.
for example, let's say that you can't find a job, and somebody offers to pay you below the table for below minimum wage. it's in your individual interest to do this--it beats having no job! but as a member of the working class, once this practice becomes normalized, suddenly the standards of pay for everyone are lower because people know that they can just pay less than minimum wage under the table. competition between workers for jobs drives wages down for everyone, leaving them all in a worse situation overall even if each individual choice to scab, to accept lower pay, to resist unionization, etc, leaves the person who makes it better off. cf. karl marx on what happens when wages and working conditions deteriorate:
The labourer seeks to maintain the total of his wages for a given time by performing more labour, either by working a great number of hours, or by accomplishing more in the same number of hours. Thus, urged on by want, he himself multiplies the disastrous effects of division of labour. The result is: the more he works, the less wages he receives. And for this simple reason: the more he works, the more he competes against his fellow workmen, the more he compels them to compete against him, and to offer themselves on the same wretched conditions as he does; so that, in the last analysis, he competes against himself as a member of the working class.
— Karl Marx, Wage Labour & Capital
similarly, any individual member of the working class is completely dispensable and replaceable by capital. if one person refuses to work unless they're paid a higher wage, they'll be fired and replaced with somebody who doesn't. the individual worker has no economic leverage whatsoever. but the working class has incredible economic leverage! and so does the intermediate stage between the working class and the individual--organized segments of the working class (e.g. trade unions) have economic leverage. if one person strikes, the capitalist can fire them. if 40,000 people strike, your industry is going to shut down.
so the reason why class analysis is compatible with individual action is that your incentives measurably change when you start organizing--it's in the interests of the individual to compete, but in the interests of the class to cooperate. and obviously you cannot just expect everyone to spontaneously coordinate! you, the individual, are disposable to capital! if you, personally, refuse to take the under-the-table offer, either on moral grounds or because you recognize your class interest, your neighbour's going to take it--unless you and her get together and agree that neither of you will take it. that's the only way that the guy making the offer is going to have to give in and offer the job for a living wage.
and this is what organization is--trade unions (although they have severe limitations!), communist parties, and other worker's organizations allow the working class to pursue their collective interest--which can only be pursued by collective action, because engaging in the strategies of collective action as an individual, without the cooperation of your peers, is high risk for no reward.
#ask#marxism#the effects of electoral politics are far far more limited in scope than trade union activity but the same holds for voting#which is what the original post i was responding to was about#if you 'vote blue no matter who' then the bourgeois party you're showing loyalty to--#--will have no reason whatsoever to even marginally offer to improve your life#and if you as a solitary individual tell joe biden 'well im not voting for you unless you promise so and so social democratic reforms'#he is gonna be like lol lmao dont care#while if you and your several thousand friends all get together and say that#he will at least be obligated to pretend to care before immediately reneging on it bc he ultimately serves capital
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