Rather Errk’d

No clue how to blog, but felt like posting my art and writing somewhere. Thanks for looking around :)

[minttttttttttttttttttttttttttt]

sorry but this video is like a parasitic species to me

10h edit: GUYS THIS IS NOT MY VIDEO IT'S BY VAVR

[writingblus]

i dont "go on walks," i dont "use character sheets" and i dont "plot before writing," i raw dog it, and if it doesnt flow, I FUCKING CRY.

[nnineteen84]

© KrizLR

[omoiyue]

ruin the friendship jax do it do it

[clownkiss3r]

learning a lot toda✍️y

[gonzos-humansona]

my hips don't lie but they will exaggerate details, misrepresent the facts, and on occasion deceive via omission of crucial information

[moonlitmartyr]

I hate ruminating on what could have been. Out here thinking "if only I locked in when I was 13" are we serious

[rather-errkd]

Huge on this.

It's a super unhelpful state of mind, but damn if I don't be ruminating all the time anyway.

[biggest-gaudiest-poltergeist]

sick, nauseous, retching at how corporate interests demand all technological advancement must come at the cost of choice and consent, must be forcefed to the uncooperative consumer. a digital menu would be useful? 'k great, they're FUCKING MANDATORY :D Wireless earbuds are an innovation, so we stole your fucking earphone jack. hard to find coins for the laundry machine? no problem, now you can pay with card, in fact you must pay with card, in fact you must DOWNLOAD AN APP TO WASH A LOAD ON MED-TEMP QUICK CYCLE. you want to park your car? you want to PARK your CAR you dumb CUCKFUCKLE? you weeping seeping pathetic pustulant bedsore of an open wound???

download our app! give us your data! give us control of your money, your time, your viewership, your exhaustion!!! give us your location, your viewing history, your marketable hopes and third-party-resellable dreams, we require access to your eyes your ears your motherfucking synapses, click here to accept OUR terms and OUR conditions!!!

to us you aren't a person per se, but you could aspire to someday be a profit

[rather-errkd]

Oh, you don't want an AI search engine that just canvasses the top search results and vomits some incoherent summary back at you regardless of the accuracy of the information? You want the same search engine that's been working for you for over twenty years? Fuck you, commie. Everything has AI, now. You will accept AI into your phone, your job, your hobbies, your art, your movies, your music, your books. All of it.

It's a goddamn blitzkrieg. All of the big tech psychopaths are shoving meaningless, borderline useless shit down our throats because they recognize that they stand to save a lot of money doing so. Fuck the rest of us who aren't on board with AI taking over entire industries. Fuck the rest of us who still want our entertainment to be made by humans. Fuck the rest of us who don't want every facet of our lives dominated by AI.

It's shit like this that makes me genuinely want to disconnect from all technology, and give those assholes as little of my money as humanly possible.

[animentality]

[rather-errkd]

When I was a child, I used to believe that any wrong act, no matter how slight, was worthy of hellfire. After all, the bible says as much in many verses. And I can remember with crystal clarity getting down on my knees many, many times and begging for forgiveness from God, and more specifically, to not be damned for all eternity.

I lived in perpetual fear of any one action of mine being my undoing, and that sort of religious paranoia does a number on a person's mental state. Even more so if that person is a child, as millions (or more likely billions) of Christians begin their pursuit of faith as.

Ultimately, it was that very fear of Hell which served as the loose thread that would unravel my faith. I came to the same conclusion as the second-to-last tweet from the above picture. There is no way to reckon a God who claims to love us more than anyone in the universe who will also cast you into the lake of fire if you don't repent from your sins. They are fundamentally incongruent ideas.

Either God loves us, and wouldn't allow us to be tortured for any length of time. Or he doesn't love us, and would allow us to be tortured. There is no world in which love and torture go hand-in-hand... unless you're big into BDSM, but that requires trust, consent, and a safe word. Last I read my bible, there was no safe word that got you out of Hell.

[rather-errkd]

Jax - A Stagnant Life

Before I say any of this, I reckon a lot of people have already put these pieces together. I'm not much of a fan theorist, so I apologize if this is kind of a rudimentary analysis.

With Episode 7 behind us, I think I'm finally starting to understand Gooseworx's vision for TADC. Back a while now, I believe Gooseworx got an ask from someone essentially wondering what she wanted people to take away from the story of TADC. She said something to the effect of: "That there's value to be found in a stagnant life."

At first, I didn't really understand how that message fit into what we were seeing in each episode.

We got hints of that from Gangle's background in Episode 4 & 5, where we learned that she was in college from Graphic Design and wanted to create her own manga-inspired web comic, but eventually dropped out and ended up working in fast food instead.

Pomni also seems to fit the bill as well, if we extrapolate a little. During her backstory section in Episode 5, we learn that she would occasionally do a little urban exploration when things got boring.

When it comes to Ragatha, Kinger, and Zooble, I'm not entirely sure how their stories fit into that overall narrative. It would make sense that Ragatha would feel the need to escape her life, what with the way her mother treats her. But I can't say for certain if that translates to her feeling stagnant in her own life.

We don't know a lot about Kinger outside of the Digital Circus aside from that he was in the computer science field, and married. If I stretch my interpretation a bit, the theme of finding value in a stagnant life may apply more to his time inside the Digital Circus than outside, considering how long he's been there.

And Zooble... well, we know they worked a variety of jobs, but that aside, we don't know much more about them outside of the Digital Circus. So I'm not sure how they fit into the overall narrative. I'm hoping we get some more Zooble background in Episode 8, but we're getting kinda down to the wire here.

But Jax. Oh, Jax. For the longest time, I didn't really get him as a character. Like, I understood that he was meant to be a troll, and that he thought being a dick was funny. But I didn't understand how his story fit into the overall theme of Digital Circus. Then Episode 7 came out, and I have to say, he makes a lot more sense to me now.

Gooseworx mentioned while answering a different ask that Jax was a total loser. And when I saw those flashbacks Jax was having right before he pushed the red button, I think I finally understood what she meant. Jax seems to have nothing outside of the Digital Circus. Those flashbacks were of utterly mundane, seemingly average suburban living. The sort of life that just putters onward without anything notable happening.

What's more, I think the Digital Circus is the closest he's come to having actual friends. Even though you really can't count any of the other characters as his friends at this point. This was lampshaded when Zooble asked him if he had anyone waiting for him on the outside, and he hesitated for a moment before insisting that he did.

Jax, at least like Gangle, Pomni, and Ragatha, ended up in the Digital Circus as a means of escaping a life that they found unbearable, only to end up getting isekai'd into a world they can no longer escape. For most of the people in the Circus, it's a prison that keeps them from returning to their old lives. But for Jax, this is the closest he's come to having a purpose, having meaning in his life.

So it stands to reason that he wouldn't want to leave, because what does he have when the headset comes off? Just the life that he desperately wanted to leave behind. And that, if I'm right in my interpretation of what we saw in Episode 7, makes Jax a much more relatable and tragic character.

[depsidase]

[rather-errkd]

Agreed. I'll be honest, I haven't met a single person who actually likes the way we structure working in this country. I haven't met anyone who thinks that it's good that we have to wait until our mid-sixties to retire, if we can retire at that age. I haven't met anyone who doesn't spend their entire workweek craving those two miniscule days of freedom that the weekend affords them. Yet you seem to lose the support of a lot of people when you suggest that we change the system that enables all of this suffering.

I always find it odd that we can say: "Hey, life actually doesn't need to suck this bad, we can do things differently." And the response is always some derivative of calling us socialist, communist, marxist, anarchist, soyboy, liberal cucks. Because, for some unholy reason, just because we've always lived life this way, that means the we always have to live life this way.

You suggest that healthcare should be a right for all people so that your employer can't hold it over your head? Socialist. You advocate for a four-day work week so that people can squeeze just a little more enjoyment out of their lives? The founding fathers would have hated you. You dare to imply that people should be paid enough money to live comfortably after working full time hours? They want you lined up on a wall.

It's just so bizarre to me that we can all agree that shit sucks bigly right now, but that's where our agreements end. We're not allowed to fix the things that suck, we just have to accept it. The only acceptable action is to commiserate about how the weekend isn't long enough, or things are too expensive, et cetera et cetera. God forbid you say capitalism isn't a law of nature, and thus we don't have to abide by it.

[depsidase]

[rather-errkd]

One wonders if that might be because the two are inextricably linked.

[trash-panda-kitty]

The White House just launched a “Media Offenders” list.

On the official WhiteHouse.gov website.

Not a campaign page.

Not an RNC graphic.

The government’s actual website.

They’re listing reporters by name.

They’re accusing news outlets of “offenses.”

They’re stamping “EXPOSED” over every independent newsroom.

They built a leaderboard for “repeat offenders.”

Like journalism is some sort of crime and sport.

This is not “messaging.”

This is not “spin.”

This is state-run media targeting,

and we have never seen anything like it in the United States.

Ever.

They’re calling Mark Kelly’s PSA “follow the law” sedition.

They’re calling journalists who report it criminals.

They’re building narrative infrastructure for repressing dissent

All while a former TV host is being accused of unlawful killings.

You don’t put reporters on a government enemies list unless you’re planning to do something with the list.

This is authoritarian architecture.

And they just published it out in the open.

[rather-errkd]

At this point, it just feels pointless to say shit like "they can't do this" or "this is unconstitutional". Like, yeah, obviously they aren't legally allowed to do things like this, and it's the very reason the first amendment exists at all. The freedom of the press exists to critique the government, and to inform the citizenry of whatever bullshit the government is on.

But the fuckery that the Trump administration has been getting up to has revealed to us just how weak our institutions, and even our constitution, really are. They existed this long because the people in power more or less agreed that they should exist and didn't touch them. We didn't need some megalomaniacal super genius to covertly dismantle our government from behind the scenes. We only needed a bigoted old man with the intellect of a toddler surrounded by hordes of yes-men for our country to begin circling the drain.

However, if you'll excuse my optimism, I don't believe this spells the end of our country by itself. Yes, to be clear, this is horrible and shouldn't be happening. But I personally believe the sycophantic fascists that make up the Trump administration lack the brains and spine to go whole hog on this deal. That isn't to say that they aren't doing immense amounts of damage, because they are. They're also hurting millions of people with their stupid-ass government, and that's unforgivable.

But Trump himself is a doddering, geriatric, fossil with not much gas left in the tank. And none (and I mean NONE) of the other people in the administration have even an ounce of his charisma. The MAGA "movement" doesn't have a leader after Trump. The only choices that makes sense to follow him up would be either his couch-fucking vice president, who no one likes. Or one of his utterly forgettable, sauceless children.

I don't say any of this to encourage you to turn a blind eye to the horrific oppression being wrought upon innocent people as we speak. Nor do I say this to in any way lessen the negative impact that these knuckle draggers have had on our country, and will likely continue to have. I say it all to inspire you to look out for yourself and your community, and hopefully convince you that there's a light at the end of this dishearteningly long tunnel. I can't promise that we'll make it out unscathed, but in times like this, the best form of resistance the average person has access to is refusing to bend the knee, and refusing to give up hope.

[unpeeled-human]

[redstonedust]

people will insist humans are naturally selfish when feeding the birds is a common hobby. when there are wildlife hospitals you can call when you find an injured fox outside. do we get anything from helping wild animals? i don't think so. it's not personal. it's just nice. it's something we have the resources to do, so we do it. i think thats worth remembering.

[rather-errkd]

I always feel like sentiments like "humans are inherently selfish" or "humans are inherently lazy" are really just poorly disguised projection. Because it's absolutely true that some people have those negative traits, but to extrapolate out that because some people are lazy, greedy, or selfish, that it somehow means that all people are just never sat right with me.

There are people who willingly give their spare time to volunteer to help others, like at soup kitchens, or tend community gardens for example. There are people who hike, run marathons, live at the gym, or compete in triathlons just because they want to. And there are people, like OP said, who feed birds, or volunteer at animal shelters, or give as much to charity as they're able to.

Those examples stand in stark contrast to the horrible, depraved picture painted by those who say humans are naturally bad. If you ask me, I think this line of thinking has deep roots in religious trauma. As an ex-Christian, I was taught for the majority of my life that human beings, at their very hearts, are desperately wicked. And because of our sinful nature, Jesus had to die on the cross to absolve us of our sins. And I've spent my entire adult life trying to unlearn the inherent self-loathing that those sorts of religious values instill in a young person.

For what it's worth, I think human beings (broadly speaking) want to be good. They want to do good by themselves, by their friends and family, and even by strangers. I'm not saying that every last human being who has ever existed was an inherently good person, you don't need to look far to debunk such an idea. But I really don't believe you can paint humanity as wholly bad just because some of us have done bad things.

After all, by that logic, I could claim that humanity is wholly good just because some of us have done good things. But that doesn't create a sensationalist narrative that causes people to panic and seek an authority figure to protect them (who they can in turn give all their money to oops)

[writing-prompt-s]

Legends speak of a forbidden tome full of the most inhumane spells known to man. After finding it, you discover that it's a worn notebook of silly, immature spell ideas that a child thought was funny. This does not make the spells inside any less horrifying.

[rather-errkd]

Draiocht Olcfear, a sinister, vile wizard, had spent the bulk of his protracted lifespan in search of a tome said to contain the most insidious spells ever put to paper. Christened the "Drochmheas Uachtarach", it was said that tome was created by the most heinous minds of the realm. In the millennia since, the tome has faded into obscurity, considered to be a mere myth by most, but Draiocht could feel in his wizened old bones that it was indeed real.

His journey led him through the fiercest of environments, past erupting volcanoes, through the Everstorm, and over the Impaling Peaks. He had searched every library, from the rinky-dink libraries of the common villages, to the Grand Athenaeum of the royal capital, and yet it was nowhere to be seen. Draiocht had nearly lost all hope of ever finding the fabled tome when he received a tip that it had been stowed away in the last place someone would ever think to look for it.

Draiocht found himself in a provincial village on the outskirts of the empire, a town of no consequence. On the periphery of the town, nestled in a small grove of trees stood a dusty old schoolhouse, with only the faintest remnants of red paint clinging to its wooden frame. He swept his way through the rows of discordant desks, and over to the small bookshelves which were in the process of collapsing under the weight of their own age, and the books they contained on their shelves. Draiocht felt a wave of rage crash over him as his fingers brushed the spines of every book on the shelves. Still nothing, only books for school-children.

Draiocht felt as though he'd been given a bad tip, and resolved himself to locate that overly chatty bard and fill him with as much lightening as he could conjure. But just before Draiocht stormed out of the worthless schoolhouse, he spied a small leatherbound booklet peeking out from the dark recess of one of the desks. As unlikely as it felt, Draiocht felt that his luck couldn't possibly have gotten any worse, and so he reluctantly reached for the small book, and wiped the dust away from it's cover.

In scratchy, unkempt handwriting read the title: "Drochmheas Uachtarach". He had found it! The culmination of decades of strife had finally been realized, and in such an unlikely location. Draiocht was awash with giddy excitement, much akin to the childlike glee he had felt when he set his first squirrel on fire. He opened the book and began to read.

Various spells were written out in different hands, though all were equally repugnant. There was one which transformed every orifice on someone's face into a puckering sphincter, another which turned the hair of one's target into venomous snakes, and yet another which could mend any two separate pieces of flesh together... That last one didn't seem so bad to Draiocht, and even seemed like it might have some use in healing injuries. That was until he observed the crude diagram sketched next to the spell which depicted an intergluteal cleft being permanently shut.

Draiocht clutched the tome close to his heard as a wicked grin spread across his wrinkled face. He'd finally found the power to make those hoity-toity bastards on the Council pay for banishing him.

[depsidase]

[rather-errkd]

Odd that shoeonhead made a point that I actually agree with. That isn't something I'm used to.

But the right-wing's obsession with telling people to leave if they don't like the objectively bad conditions of the country we live in will never cease to amaze me. They use the fact that we're not technically a third world country to attempt to invalidate the fact that we live in financially horrible times for the vast majority of citizens. The economy is only working well for the people who already have all the money. The rest of us? We're lucky to have some money leftover at the end of the month that we can spend on non-essentials. Most of us don't even have that.

I'm used to Ben Shapiro having god-awful takes, that's his brand. He's the same guy who told people who live by the coasts to sell their homes if Global Warming causes the ocean levels to rise high enough to flood their cities. But it's awfully telling that these folks are never willing to engage with the material conditions that lead to people voting for someone like Mamdani, and instead just tell you to pack up and move somewhere else. As if people who are living paycheck-to-paycheck suddenly have enough money to move to a different city/state. Moving isn't exactly something a financially struggling person can just... do. That shit costs money.

The people we elect to public office are supposed to make our lives better. That's the point of a representative government. That's why we vote. Has it been working like that for the past few decades? No, obviously not, which is funnily enough, why people voted for Mamdani. He promised to work towards improving New Yorker's material conditions, and wouldn't ya know it, New Yorker's liked the sound of that. Meanwhile, Mamdani's closest competition, Cuomo, essentially told New Yorkers that nothing would change under him, because nothing needed to change. Are we, perhaps, connecting the dots as to why Mamdani won?

Simply put, right-wingers don't have policy solutions to the existential problems facing Americans today. Instead, they scapegoat whole groups of people, telling you that immigrants, or LGBT+ people are to blame for your suffering. And then they hope and pray that you don't look any closer and realize that they've never once fought for you as your representative. Instead they've chosen to take the money of corporations in exchange for defending corporate interests, rather than yours.