I feel the urge to disagree with you because I expected issues that concern adults in power to be morally gray and complicated but these people are cartoonishly evil. So is it even less correct to compare them to Swiper the Fox or the Hamburgler?
I feel like I normally would disqualify myself from giving feedback because “what do I know?” But I’ve recently been wrestling with self criticism vs self compassion and this sticks out to me as 1) a comrade in pain and 2) something for which my perspective is possibly insightful.
If I saw a teenager cry until they were depressed, blaming them by saying it’s all their fault for having poor outcomes 5 years out seems like… one of the approaches of all time. I am firmly into my adulthood and my emotions go haywire because I forgot a meal and it’s raining outside. I don’t want teenagers to have to exert enough control to steer their lives with rugged individualism. Some mourning of loss and understanding of your broader context might ease the burden you carry.
If I wanted to squeeze the most juice out of life, I would try to be excited about the work that’s ahead of you. No. Really. The thing about overcoming addiction, finding community, learning skills, and regaining your fitness is that it beats the alternative. There’s an implicit hope buried deep in that sadness believing your life could be better. And luckily enough, the pursuit of happiness can also be enjoyable. Learning about a cool stranger’s point of view is a pleasurable thing. Reconciling a friendship when they see your potential is very rewarding. You don’t need to torture yourself in a gym to get fit - (lifting is fun and) there are a million alternatives for moving your body. You might even find navigating the professional world and the pursuit of further education/qualifications enjoyable. I didn’t, but I wish I gave it a chance. There’s no point in going in believing that it’s going to be dogshit, especially if the needle is already pointed to the depression and crying end of the spectrum (I think reconciliation for socialism and not hating work goes here and it fits readily but that’s not the focus so I’m skipping it).
A more wisened perspective might even tell you the difference between climbing out of a pit and climbing up a mountain is more a matter of different perspective than it is a matter of different technique. There’s not a whole lot else to be doing in life than climbing as I’m sure you can attest to by sitting in void for years.
Let me know if that’s sappy, reactionary, lib, or whatever. It’s what I unironically believe and tell myself.
I’d print that ban out and frame it.
It was perfect, down to the last minute detail
let alone your own politics
I hadn’t thought about it in a long time how established I am in my politics. There’s a lot I could stand to be more educated on, but I pretty much have the fundamentals down cause I don’t want to be beholden to a system whose only purpose is to make sure 17 or so people are wealthy beyond measure.
You are actively writing and didn’t get distracted… right?
In my experience that Roald Dahl poem about how a person with kind thoughts can never be ugly is the truest thing I’ve ever known. I put a huge premium on ways to calm my judgements up to and including swallowing my pride and doing roleplay with my inner child to redefine my narratives.
Take one day a week where you can take yourself less seriously so you can laugh and thank the magic rectangle for the providence to deliver you from cringe by showing you communism. If you can’t “separate the art from the artist” then explore that. Do you have a community of people who rely on you to win the day so you have to shoulder the burden? Or perhaps have you grown really attached who you perceive yourself to be in relation to others - are you in love with your narrative? Others might be full court pressed by your responsibilities which sucks and we should work together to make society better so these people have a world worth persisting for.
So much for the intolerant left 
will you all just pick a lane?!
me when my writer’s critique group ubiquitously commented that I forgot to explain the magic system in my magic college novel (I am not yet powerful enough to oust Rowling from her throne in the public’s consciousness).
Anakin, you’re breaking my heart
One Piece clears by a mile.
And can someone remind me why you’re supposed to steal Disco Elysium?
not so bloomer for now, but hopefully the road is clear for now to get back to bloomer status.
before even reading anything about what you posted, that’s literally what forward progress looks like. That’s the only attitude you could possibly take. Your progress in positivity, out of addiction, skill level in a craft/hobby, is necessarily not linearly upwards.
Now that I read it, my heart goes out to you as you deal with something that gives me nightmares and instantly torques my sadness to 11.
I don’t think I’ve heard it said enough recently.
I HATE capitalism. My hatred would make AM blush
threaten to beat people up with an avian style martial art
Trump dies during a lib Jan 6th and a civil war breaks out is on someone’s parlay somewhere out there as a 1:1,000,000 payout and they put $10,000 on it.
Every other political philosophy is dogshit dogwater bullshit. Communism will win. Free Palestine.
And somebody has to be the funniest person here. I don’t know what you’d do without me.
You would need 10 million lightning bugs 
I thought you got banned or whatever
Yeah, if NATO goes away and algorithms are mildly less shitty then I get two wins the way I see it.
They call it an intelligence leak but the plan was to strike Iran. More like a dumb ass blood thirsty rabid dog leak.