#Essential Utilities

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

the high prices of fucking Everything is so exhausting i stg

#i need to take an uber to the vet TEN MINUTES AWAY #i repeat IT IS A TEN MINUTE DRIVE #and its gonna cost me nearly 60 bucks. the FUCK #and who knows how much the checkup for my cats is gonna cost #let alone whatever prescription they need for the long drive #im so tired. im so so tired #its moments like these where i can see my future #ah yes. working 9-5 for a company that sees me as nothing more than a tool to be replaced when broken #just barely scraping by on minimum wage in a world where that isnt enough to pay for essentials #left with no time or energy to actually enjoy being alive or do the things i love #years and years of the same exact shit over and over and over again hating every second #and KNOWING it could be so much better but also knowing that it fucking Cant. sigh #sorry sorry im just. angry again at the absolute state of things #i would love to love life but my fucking god the world at large makes it tough #white-knuckling the little things once again #man its just. its so STUPID lmao #like why are we torturing ourselves like this? why are we just Accepting this #life could be so great but stupid shit like taxes and inflation and utilities exist #most of the shit we have to pay for should be free. it should be free. #it shouldnt be difficult to Live just because the majority of us don't have the fake fucking paper to buy things #its pointless its ridiculous and it makes me furious #why should i kill myself just to survive huh. why should i. why should any of us. #we all deserve to fuckin. idk enjoy sunsets and good food and art and each others' company. #instead everyone's stressing themselves to death over making rent and getting groceries and paying bills. fuck. #id love to be able to create art that Sells and open a shop or something #but also the thought of creating purposefully marketable art purely to make money fucking kills me inside #comms are one thing but... just... sighing sighing sighing. man idk #i just dont know. ill deal but everytime i manage to think positively reality comes in with a sledgehammer and now i want to go back to bed #the point is to live BUT YA CANT FUCKIN LIVE BC POINTLESS STUFF REIGNS SUPREME. WHO'S GONNA COMMIT ARSON W ME CMON LETS GO #this stupid fucking country and this stupid fucking government. i hate it here

[shima-draws]

My landlord: Hey I'm coming by to pick up a new check from you for your rent this month. The one you gave me has the wrong date on it so the bank wouldn't accept it

Me: Embarrassing! Well there are other lifetimes to live. Goodbye world

#(That's the sound of me walking into oncoming traffic and then exploding and then getting reborn as someone new btw) #Oh my god I'm literally so. What was going through my head when I was writing that check. Okay. #Shima speaks #AT THE VERY LEAST she isn't coming all the way out just for my check #She actually overcharged us on utilities so she's bringing a check for my roommate lol #Check trade. Essentially #Still embarrassing tho! She actually went to the bank with that! And they said hey this isn't right #Me: May I perhaps. Be struck by a meteor. Or even a passing car?

[musubiki]

okay im actually a little emotionally attached to mochis shop being a little cat bookstore now

#so warm...... #it invokes the feeling that its been there for 20 years #also seems like the kind of place a witch would run #theres a bunch of plants and cats and warm lighting #im trying to think if the cat witch was a cool side character how would i design her #since a lot of my side characters are cool as hell like murda and lady magg-lynn #it gives off the cozy vibes of broosters cafe #one(1) seating/reading area that consists of a little table and some chairs around it #that usually is taken up by coco/lime/oscar/taffy playing board games or something #some random girl with a crush on lime: heyy is it okay if i sit here and read for a bit? #lime: actually we dont allow reading the books in the store until after youve purchased them. im sure you understand #hes so indifferent and it works against him cuz a lot of girls are like (wow so cool....i want him more now...) #a tiny bookstore on the outter reaches of the downtown area. like before there is a house essentially attatched to the back where they live #oscar somehow affording a house with a storefront in the downtown area #( how did you afford this...) #(i work.) #mochi compensates him appropriately for letting her hijack his store #he doesnt mind though. he wasnt sure what kind of shop to run anyway #plus with magic mochi around he doesnt need to worry about utility bills or furniture or anything ever again so its a fair trade off #(rumor has it that shop has books on anything you could imagine) #someone walks in asking about 8th century pottery techniques from the eastern regions of the kingdom #(let me check the back!) she says and is back with the exact book 5 minutes later

[samarecharm]

I know that peach game is like. For kids. Im SO aware of it. But its. So fucking cheap???? This is like the bloatware of nintendo games. What is going on here ???? Not to give nintendo even an ounce of credit…but they generally treat their main characters better than this. And especially after seeing mario wonder, its really obvious how poorly put together and boring this game is. Which is such a shame. Bc Super Princess Peach is right there. Go play that instead.

#chattin #i do NOT have the game; i havent bought a nintendo ip game in years (wonder was gifted to me) #i am watching my mom play it #this is a 60$ game………… #and its SO shoddy. no flair or glam or anything #the species they used for the staff is so bland #the font they used for alot of the reveals for her looks like block text they were supposed to replace w a better font #and peachs voice is SO stilted and like #not. nice to hear 😭 #its a kids game but like. all of nintendos games for mario n peach and yoshi are made for kids #so its a bit of a cop out to use that as an excuse #in general games are getting less and less polish #and companies are spitting about poorly optimized barely functioning games at a higher cost #this game is like. SO small and SO short #and theres STILL insane load times and frame stuttering. #for a game that is essentially a glorified hide and seek popup book. its bad. its BAD #gameplay is like bizarrely unintuitive despite being so easy. no checkpoints for u to personally utilize; its only there for incase u die #barely anything is explained. and its like that by design bc it forces u to replay stages for 100% #for missing a crucial mechanic they WONT explain to u until the middle of the level #its very. bad. its cute! you could give this to a little kid who really liked peach and theyd like it #but its disappointing bc theres LOTS of cute kids games that feel like Actual games for them #spreading my super princess peach agenda. that game was cute….

[rapidhighway]

i want to put him through A LOT of emotions. this guy needs to experience fear and joy and all that shit

#this au goes in a weird direction i think? #the problem is that when youre putting the character through some shit theyre gonna be changed (of course) #and its hard to make them change and not be ooc #its hard enough to have him run around in pants and talk man #the outfit is essential btw #look at my old comic i utilized it well its gotta be like that

[nerdfighterwhatevernumbers]

Legit, if Be Cool Scooby Doo didn’t have the art style it does it would be one of the most popular versions

#be cool scooby doo #scooby doo #it has seriously good jokes #the mysteries are good mysteries #it has Superb chase scenes which are essential #it utilizes Scooby and Shaggy Doing Improv which is also an essential classic and it does it well #the gang is ALL friends and they ALL LIKE EACH OTHER

[tunderilona]

well maybe i do have career goals.... i just dont know how to achieve them

#i DO want to be a translator but you cant even find translating jobs bc its all so based on having connections #<- only true for the regular műfordítói szakma‚ a szakmai fordítás teljesen másmilyen az már egyetemen se ment lol #and i do speak english‚ i can helyesen írni‚ ismerem a központozást (bár néhány könyvet olvasva ezek már nem elvárások. lol) #and i do have connections i just dont know how to utilize it because i just cant bring myself to essentially use someone for my 'gain' idk #like 'hi we havent talked in AGES lol anyway can you get me a translating job? ☺️' id be so disgusted with myself 😕

[nullcoast]

Why can't we just love eachother and help eachother and cry for eachother when we hurt and laugh for eachother when we're happy. What happened to radical acceptance and beauty. Why are we self-separating using white suppremist ideas about identity. The idea someone needs some pure property to be worthy of adopting a community is point blank a white suprematist idea. Where is the understanding of mistake and pain.

We are so alone and isolated in this generation and we are playing directly into the interests of those in power by further self-separating. Focus on some important fucking shit.

#essentially #get class conscious #explore spirituality #and understand that a human being is an astounding phenomenon and every single one is amazing and terrifying #and is worth the effort of understanding #and accepting #ok yeah I had 6 shots at 3pm whatever #but fr the time someone cut me off bc I said I don't care about hehim lesbians #like in real life #crazy shit (they later apologized which was sick as fuck of them) #just the fact it spills out beyond the internet is horrible and the internet isn't great itself #bc it could otherwise be utilized as an extremley effective tool for praxis #were it not for infighting #like. i know a lot of white queers who avoid 'straight' seeming poc or jocks or whatever the fuck #idk I understand anxiety fully #but if u continue to stay within a social comfort zone #you will never see the beauty of expression possible within humanity #and placing more value on queer white friends than a straigh black friend..... not great. it's not great. #implicitly aligning with your anxiety or discomfort over how another person operates #not great #I've seen queer white ppl treat homeless ppl like SHIT bc ' my anxiety!!' #its fucked up #and it makes me understand why certain demographics see queerness as a rich white phenomoneon (it's not but it makes me understand how ppl #can accept such a ridiculous narrative) #bc white queers such as myself only experiment with radical thought and action within the comfort of whiteness #anything outside that it's the same old white attitude towards others #idk like. what do u do when u meet a homeless guy who is antivax and scizo #do u jsut write him off as a loony conservative? anti lgbt? what do u do? #I've seen this contradiction arise and I'm #just deeply ashamed of how my community is prone to reacting

[soul-our-punk]

What are we even doing here?

The more people who understand there are ways to meet your needs, and not at the cost of someone else's needs, the better. Particularly if they don't hold bigoted views which lead to silly things like going out of your way to prevent someone else from having their needs met. Making the world worse for someone because you don't know how to make it better for yourself. Life's hard enough without wasting your precious time, energy, and creative force on how to afflict your neighbor.

For my part, I like to think there are more people in the world who like the concept of mutual aid and are merely making do with the current capitalistic-zero-sum game until something better crystalizes--in spite of the system shouting so loud about itself, good or ill, in an effort to make it difficult to hear alternatives. Which is why I believe "solidarity over charity" is such an approachable proposition, regardless of the generation to which you have been ascribed by whomever does the sorting. I mean, Peter Singer was talking about this in the 70's. You have an obligation as a member of society to take measures to preserve wellness and uplift the vulnerable--give until giving any more would cause you harm. You get to decide where that dividing line is based on your finances, energy levels, social support network, available time, mobility, etc. As long as you set that line earnestly, then you are fulfilling the obligation which entitles you to the benefits of other member's solidarity.

The thing is, we're cornered. Restricted in analyses of all the options we could use to compose more humane systems. Isolated from what we could become, by a constant stream of shock doctrines induced by manufactured-disasters. So, mutual aid remains considered a coping strategy, rather than a cultural driving force for fundamental change, for the time being. Though, there's the rub, in that if there is always a new disaster, there is always a perceived need of relief prioritized over sustainable growth, which means the mutual aid has to become a political driving force to get ahead of the source of constructed woes.

I say that while also being painfully aware that discussion of any ideology beyond the current paradigm is defined by capitalistic expectations. Alternatives are invariably framed as monstrous inevitabilities in the supposed disastrous event of dismantlement, at least until they're cut open and adapted to fulfill a material component requisite to quell dissenting voices. "We can have social programs, yes, but it's not socialism, socialism is bad. Capitalism is good, which is why you have these social programs. Ignore other countries that have been providing more of these benefits for much longer, and devote more relative resources." Every other ideology is either fodder to be exploited for some new way to market what we have, or is dismissed/reviled for significant lack of traits that we already have in the devil we know. Which is very convenient for finding more fodder. Why would we want any system we make from here on anything like capitalism? We have to keep in mind that we are not looking for a better release appeal to make before an intractable captor. We are looking for the strategy that will attract enough confidence from fellow captives. To disenchant the captivated of the all consuming capitalist notion that virtue is derived from the free market's advertised high proficiency value generation.

What value? It definitely lets select groups pool resources, making their coffers more "valuable" in a fiscal sense, but where is the Value in that for a society? If its only claim to fame is that it can move numbers around faster and wont judge you for neglecting people's needs, then what does it actually do for us collectively that another system can't? Capitalism's whole premise relies on you not having enough, on you believing that there is not enough out there, that the only way you can have enough is to get there before someone else gets it and you're left with The Zero-Sum. But why would we take that on blind faith? What if there is a way to play the Positive-Sum game and we're just sitting on that because we assume its a fantasy?

How tragic to realize that the whole time you were suffering an obscene Sallie Mae loan, there could have been a non-tuition option. How mortifying to learn the medical bills that were artificially inflated by the relationship between the hospital and your insurance could have been handled by the taxes you already pay. The rent that serves as your proof of earning the right to live, assuaged with universal basic income. The chronic anxiety, stress, and aggression born from a machine of impersonal jobs that can leverage social class and basic needs to claim a third of your life for the least possible compensation possible; replaced with all the possibilities of a well rested mind and body.

Why would we as a collective people ever opt-in to the gamified social hierarchy?

What are we even still doing here?

#this was originally supposed to be a two sentence post #solarpunk #anti capitalism #mutual aid #zero sum #positive sum #solidarity not charity #universal healthcare #universal basic income #free education #right to housing #Also the internet should be recognized as an essential utility

[theadventurek9]

For the first time in a while I took the camera out for some photos. I think I have a few cute ones, but none are really great quality or in focus. ( 17 year old cameras!) Yet it felt good to get out and try it again.

When I find the cord to download the photos I'll have a few up.

I can't wait until the day I'm not fully paycheck to paycheck, able to pay the trials I want to attend and then be able to afford a nice new camera.

#i want a new camera but its kind low on my list #currently my non essential purchase list is whatever classes it takes to qualify us for obedience and rally finals #obedience is covered for utility #she wont have enough trials for superdog finals but thats a lot of work and is hard #but as long as nothing major happens and we dont NQ a rally class we are going to get into rally finals #then i just got to afford rally finals #i probably wont do agility this time

[thundergrace]

Is there ANY country that doesn't force its citizens to pay for gas, heat, electricity, and water???

#I'll never get over it #having to pay for things you need to survive is just.... #i guess the better or more direct question #would be is there a country where essential utilities aren't privatized

[apollo-cackling]

sometimes I go into western fandom spaces for chinese webnovels and I feel like I'm going insane is chinese racism/ableism really that different from western racism that western fans don't notice them the way I do it can't be can it it feels so blatantly obvious to me but no one talks about it??????

not to say that folks can't enjoy them still I just start feeling like the person in horror movies that's the only person that sees ghosts

#my rambles #like this arc with desert dwelling people who are Inherently Brutish and Murderous and 10147x stronger than Normal people #and we Had to genocide them 'cause else they'd've suicide bombed hundreds of our cities #(which is confirmed true by one of those quote unquote savages' generals and the narratives just accepted was necessary) #like ????? #also seeing a book rec'd on its political intrigue and turns out there's a whole Thing about killing and subjugating the Savages #idk if 蛮人 is more or less yikes than 'barbarians' on a cultural context level but #yk #even in the ones I've started to read that are less bad about it #the barbarians/'we actually gave them a name this time but you know what we're talking about' #still essentially serve the narrative utility of tolkien's orcs #also the liao kingdom in y/wu even setting aside that I just find 'Ontologically Evil Kingdom' extremely boring as an archetype #(esp given the narrative utility of it was just 'well the stuffy nobles* Bicker and all that but when faced with an existential threat #they pull together #*read: deeply bigoted dogmatic hateful selfish exploitative rotten to the core groups people #which is boring and lazy and I hate it) #also just. good ol' chinese racism I can't remember if it's Actual Racist (w/ its descriptions mirroring descriptions of irl folks) but. yk #I need to stop picking structural holes in yuwu I'm done reading it I'm done #also this other one I found's base concept involves a mentally ill protag whose mental illness literally involves him sometimes becoming #an uncontrollable murderer or wtv #so #fun

[slydiddledeedee]

Full offense but congresspeople shouldn’t get paid during a government shutdown. Like you caused this lol now face the consequences just like everyone else working for the government

#also found out some asshole declared his staff essential workers #so they have to come in to work without getting paid #AND still worry about dmv rent AND metro fare or gas AND food and utilities. without being able to look for anything to supplement their #income #hope they quit lol!!!!!!

[bidokja]

genuinely hoping it is bisexual king alex go that shows up to help gray with a 2v2 beatdown

#I NEED TO SEE THEM KICKING ASS TOGETHER #i feel like. at first alex idealized ben's fighting too much #and still kind of does. he wants to focus in order to hit Harder despite his speed being an essential factor for him #which of course strength and accuracy are important #so along w his gym training #i think fighting side by side with gray will encourage him to fight Smarter not Harder #NOT in the same way gray does i do not think anyone can replicate that aside from maybe donald na #but like. in the sense that he will utilize his own style of fighting more optimally #...i also just want alex to have an opportunity to give what he got to the mokha duo tbh fhsjdjsk #ANYWAYS #ky speaks #weak hero

[weirderscience]

avatar is like detroit become human to me where i can see the potential and the themes its trying to approach but ultimately fails to, simply bc its written by a white guy whos never had to reflect on his own internal biases and would rather appropriate the struggles of bipoc for his own pet issue that cannot be discussed without fully acknowledging said struggles. so it ends up being a really sanitized and whitewashed version of itself that manages to say absolutely nothing substantial and treat itself like its groundbreaking regardless

#like avatar does a really good job of like. saying colonialism is bad #but refuses to elevate indigenous voices on environmental issues #and doesnt even really acknowledge its own racism #like the naavi are essentially a monolith that is inherently more connected with the planet than humans #and paralleling that with real like sentiment that native people are like. mystical beings #that have some sort of innate spiritual connection to nature #thats kind of bad. #wish theyd like. show naavi as having a central motive other than 'nature is important to me' #or naavi that have complex motivations that dont utilize magic native stereotypes #god this franchise would be so much better if neytiri was the main character #labz.txt

[jediexile]

I wish I could win the lottery just so my dad can retire and doesn’t have to work 13 hr days as a 62 year old anymore

#at least it’s not as labor intensive as his previous jobs #it’s a lot of computer work #but he gets paid by the hour and he works so much partially bc of the alimony he has to pay #he proactively offered to pay my mothers essential bills (rent food stipend utilities etc) #and she STILL asks for more money. I mean she has a job and it is shit pay but still. people would die to be in her position #anyway im mad about it and my dad just left me a message like ‘sorry haven’t been in touch much working long days’ and he sounded so tired #im sad abt it too