Once again it's time for another bloomer thread. Post good news, something nice that happened to you, or just some words of courage. Lord knows we need it.
If anyone asks, my contribution is this dope ass rat
my bf is so handsome n awesome and he make me a cake today to cheer me up _
hes honestly the best. i cant do a whole lot of stuff cause of ptsd but he says he loves to do stuff for me cause i always get this bright expression on my face and that makes him feel better too _
I've basically turned my wife into a leftist from liberal. She had never seen starship troopers. We're watching it right now and she's laughing at all of the fascist shit. I feel accomplished
:frothingfash: :dancing-roach:
Communism will win :communism-will-win:
Over the weekend, I was talking with an EMT who wasn't sure about "defund the police" or "ACAB", and expressed empathy for cops (as fellow emergency responders) but agreed that there are bad cops, issues of systemic racism, etc in the force and didn't flinch when I said I'm a communist.
We spoke for awhile about how ACAB doesn't mean there are no cops who aren't nice/amicable off the clock, but rather the duties of their job mean that anyone who does that job is a bastard, and about class relations and how those factor into policing and how they factor in to the ineffectiveness of legislative reform, and how all this all connects back to the capitalist class fucking over the proletariat. They picked up on some examples I'd given to support "if you're a cop then doing your job makes you a bastard", specifically around how cops are always fucking over unhoused people in every way they can.
When I pointed out that if you're the capitalist class, the threat of homelessness is enough to keep workers in line even when their material conditions are getting worse, it was like a light turned on for them. It was so fucking cool to see. They talked about how they interact with a lot of homeless people because of their job, and they are constantly getting fucked with by the cops, who never ever try to help them instead. And how it makes sense that since the threat of homelessness keeps people working for shit pay, making more money for the rich. And how the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles, basically — like, I could hear it all click into place for them. I gave them a recommendation for intro-level baby's-first-theory (basically marxism 101 with modern language and examples, and suggested graeber's bullshit jobs if they weren't clicking with my first rec) and am gonna check in on them in a couple weeks to see how it's going ans send them the Das Kapital manga and/or Blackshirts and Reds.
I'm really not even good at talking to people or explaining my points IRL without getting sidetracked, and it was still easy enough to get someone from "I'm not sure about this whole defund the police thing" to "ACAB means all cops. The capitalist mode of production must be overthrown and the workers must take back the value of their surplus labor. We have nothing to lose but our chains" in like... a matter of hours.
Capitalist power today is essentially built upon the bribes made possible by the post war boom, and the amount of time they have been in power. Every day these become less and less effective at keeping the proletariat in line. Eventually the people will know where they stand, and then there will be nothing that can stop us.
And above all else what keeps me going is that they have to win every single time, we only have to win once. Every cointelpro, every counter-revolutionary action, they all have to win. As soon as the imperial core falls there will be no way to piece it back together. Once the USA and France, among others, finally eat shit there will never again be the conditions nessecary to recreate western imperialism. I don't know if I will live to see it, but communism will win, whether by me, our grandchildren, or their children, the pigs will finally fucking lose.
:Care-Comrade:
As soon as the imperial core falls there will be no way to piece it back together.
:bloomer:
I hadn't considered any of this before but you're so right. And the writing is on the wall for the collapse of the imperial core in the USA, and cannot be postponed forever in France — capitalism is a snake eating its own tail, and the tendency of the rate of profit to fall makes it inevitable that it will collapse under the weight of its own contradictions.
the tendency for the rate of profit to go down is basically my religion at this point. :anglo-burn: :gasoline: :sicko-wholesome:
Right there with you sister, even my most pessimistic moments it's soothing to remind myself that the last day of capitalism may not be today, it may not be tomorrow, it may not even be in my lifetime - but it will be someday
:comfy: :cool-zone:
That rat is beautiful, what a berry healthy diet it has :rat-salute:
My kid now joins in with “toes”, “eyes”, “ears”, “mouth” and “nose” when singing “head, shoulders, knees and toes”, it’s so adorable it hurts
She’s also obsessed with bellies and will lift my shirt up in public to poke my belly and yell “BELLYYYYY” excitedly
It's from the office apparently, an Andy quote from the series finale (maybe? i never watched that far):
"I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them."
I'm actually revising the manuscript I completed last year. A family emergency happened and I went into caretaker mode, but now I have an easy full-time job where I can make edits whenever a thought arises.
I was afraid I wasn't going to touch it, but after some work on myself, I better appreciate what I can do and can offer others.
I'm a talented writer and would love to help other talented writers too. If anyone wants free advice or feedback on writing that won't doxx you, please feel free to DM me. I know we have a ton of brilliant writers here.
For me, it helps to break down writing into smaller parts and training those skills individually.
Dialogue
Description
Background/characterization
Lore/worldbuilding/exposition
Instead of just throwing yourself into the vague idea of writing, try to think of it as several parts that paint a picture. If that makes sense.
I've been told that I don't describe enough characterization, so one thing I do is I look at at people in passing and instead of making assumptions, I start asking myself questions about them.
Are they there by themselves? Do they have any significant items with them? Do they have scars or tattoos?
Is the shirt they're wearing special to them?
Are they wearing a wedding band?
Is there something about their posture or the way they talk that sticks out to you? What could be possible about them that would surprise you?
Don't use it to make judgments about people. Try to create stories for these people.
I think writers like Rowling get it backwards and make a bad person and then give them traits they think are bad.
But one of the best tips I can offer is that you're writing a lot without even realizing it. If you catch yourself daydreaming or thinking of a plausible reason why something is, that's writing.
You can look at old texts you sent or funny things you said or heard. Not everything will suit what you need for a particular piece of writing, but everything can be useful.
Finally, think of situations that would be emotionally charged just for you and see if you can run with it.
For example, I was able to write a pretty good thriller story based on my own anxiety about people going through my things. Since it's a close (sometimes triggering) issue for me, I can write about that in a very authentic way.
What if your personal idea of heaven was the real one?
What if that conversation you messed up went the way you wanted it to?
It's okay if it's awkward or uncomfortable. Think of it like flexing a muscle. Until you get good at using it, you'll feel uncomfortable and then it'll be second nature.
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my balcony kumquat tree is covered in massive kumquats right now and im gonna harvest them and make a tonne of delicious kumquat jam just like my grandma used to make
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my partner and i have been doing a new recipes challenge over the last few weeks and made a whole bunch of delicious and mostly surprisingly easy new recipes we had never made before, all of them :im-vegan:
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that is a cool rat, i hope they enjoy the berries
Mushrooms and revolutions are my two favorite things to learn about, this is great
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My worldbuilding project is coming together quite nicely :party-blob:
Just gotta write some stories and figure out how to make a podcast where I narrate them
That sounds cool! I've been looking around for a Welcome to Nightvale show that's not true crime junk.
If you like stories about class struggle and revolution set in a somewhat-fantasy setting, along with little asides exploring whatever fun things I can come up with like recipes and funny little creatures, done in the form of someone narrating in-setting documents, journal entries, etc. then I'll definitely let you know when I start uploading
