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Jacob Calta's avatar

What I'm about to say is coming from "the trenches" (seeing as I'm 22), but the way I see it is this:

1.) Life now means living with one hand behind your back. You're constantly dealing with people of weak visions and voices, and no concreteness of morality or intellect. Nothing feels worse than being chained to a wishy-washy world. It's both oxymoronic and just plain moronic.

2.) Above all else, whatever positive change should be made, it must start from within. I don't work out as hard as I did in high school, but I exercise, I take care of myself, and I stay building. Building my mind, my constitution, my skills. It's why "365 Infantry" and a lot of my fiction centers on heroes and hot rods. Fighters of great skill squaring off against great evils, often riding an iron horse or sat behind the wheel, dressed in denim and leather. These are people (and wolves and other assorted creatures) who must thrive in the face of dire circumstance, sometimes just for their own amusement and out of spite. It's why I'm drawn to heavy metal and fever-dream jazz. Music that makes a statement, that has power. I am drawn to these intuitively. The strength, the vision, the drive. That shit's attractive.

3.) I don't force the matter of dating right now, because I don't see anyone worth my time. The modern dating game is made of equal parts delusions and dishonesty. When all anyone cares about is getting screwed, you get the materialist shit-show on display. Guys driven mad by cravings, girls looking for no commitments, neither realizing something meaningful can bring a greater pleasure than any one-night stand. In a perverse way, my time at college taught me to focus on making the best version of myself so that I can have that meaningful relationship. A self-made man beats staying chained to a desk, and with that self-making comes confidence, and with that comes drive, the rest flows from there. When someone catches my eye and has the willingness to commit that I have, that's the girl to go for. I can only hope all of you don't blow this to hell before that happens lmao.

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Argo's avatar

The Nine Realms of Decadence (WIP)

Asgard = Adgard - the place the Aesir tell you you should be living

Alfheim = DIEheim - land of the Bright Elves, the chosen people who are allowed to be as wrathful as they want - the woke, the billionaires, the diverse.

Jotunheim = Hoetunheim - an orgy. Just, an eternal orgy of giants.

Midgard = Mediagard - the place you live in according to media, blown up and hyperbolized for your consooming benefit

Muspellheim = Managerheim - Safety World, the corporate world, the academic world, where advancement depends on pleasing your fire giant bosses who can brand you as a deplorable.

Nidavellir = Need-em-vellir - the realm of the Dwarf tradies who actually keep things running

Niflheim = Nihilheim - the realm of normal working people who have a hard time imagining affording a home, a car, or getting a promotion

Svartalfheim was canceled for being the realm of the Black Elves. This was considered inappropriate.

Vanaheim = The Banished. Vanaheim was the home of the Vanir, which Wikipedia says are a group of gods associated with wisdom, fertility, and ability to see the future. So, parents.

By the way, about Valhalla:

Valhalla = Fauxhalla, which seems to be a good proxy for the Pixel Valhalla you describe.

On the topic of allegorical schizoposting, I read Dracula recently and found a wealth of things that modern vampire media doesn't emphasize, but in my opinion, should.

https://open.substack.com/pub/argomend/p/blood-drunk-on-you?r=28g8km&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

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