#if that means they're doing a production in future it's a good news

[jupitermoontarot24]

⭐What's Your Next Glo UP?💜⭐

🤍WELCOME TO YOUR GLO UP ERA 🤍

LOADINGGG.........⭐NOW⭐ Piles 1-5

ENJOY💗

SO EXCITED FOR YOU GUYS!! 1111

Pile 1😈

Hello welcome!

You could be having a lot of good sex in the future. You could be moving or visiting a new place, traveling a lot more. You can be getting a lot of new clothes, clothes of brighter colors, a spring wardrobe or summer wardrobe. Your body could be getting more fit so you need a new wardrobe to show off your new hips, is what I heard but your whole body in general. Teeth getting whiter. Your lips could be getting bigger. Maybe you get filler, plumping or you just find a really good lip combo that enhances your lips or something. Your head hair could be growing out a lot. If you had a bob or cut it could be growing out really fast so you can end up having long hair. I feel like if you do travel it's going to be well accommodated for. I see really nice hotel rooms, robes, places where they leave you slippers, just really nice places. If you're moving to a new place I can see you starting to map out what your bedroom is going to look like, what type of furniture you want. Your eyelashes might grow a lot as well, maybe you start using a new serum or something like that. You could become hairless? You could be entering a long distance relationship and maybe that's why you're traveling so much or you move. Your boobs or pecks might start sitting higher, if you start working out your chest area. Could be getting into yoga, you might just start being more flexible. You could also be getting new makeup products weekly is what I heard for some people but you could be trying out a lot of new products. So based on this you might have a windfall of money, more consistent money coming in or you meet somebody who starts to pay for your lifestyle. Pile one your manifestations are coming in. You could have daydreamed and manifested and scripted a lot of things that maybe you didn't see coming into the 3D but it's only because they were on Divine timing. Now is the time and all of these things might come in at once and it's going to happen fast too! Let go of any fear that you've had because all things you've been thinking about are coming in. Some of you could enter into the same sex relationship. 777

I am so happy for you pile one. You really are very deserving of this! When I tell you all your manifestations are coming in I mean it. The universe is rewarding you for your patience, drive and your good deeds. Yeah you're getting elevated in status, money and body. This could even happen overnight,  that's what it feels like. I feel like your next glo up is surrounded by the fact that you believed in yourself, you believed that you were a magical being that could manifest and that's exactly what happened. So now you don't have to live in the means of other people's expectations of you because people have no idea how much power you  generate! This is not a love reading but there's about three different people that are coming in for you, I guess that's part of your next glo up. You have three options to choose from, two for some ppl. One could be same-sex, the other two could be the opposite sex whatever resonates. I think two of these people are exes and this king of Wands is new and they're going to pop up out of absolutely nowhere. These are people who've been thinking long and hard about this, could be people you haven't spoken to in months. They want to have a conversation and hash it out. Your next glo up is that you are on everyone's todo list. Three people are coming in asking for some type of commitment.

Jamie Foxx - You Changed Me (Explicit) ft. Chris Brown

Pile 2🤯

Welcome

Your next glow up could be centered around you stepping more into your feminine energy. You could also be manifesting and receiving jewelry. Your hair could also be getting longer and you might be going out a lot more at night. Maybe you get invited on dinner dates often or just out to hang out with friends. I see this happening in the summer. You could end up visiting a place that you've never been before, and staying in a really nice house or you might have been to this place but you haven't seen it like how you will see it this specific time. Maybe you stay in a better place or you have a better view of the city wherever you're at.

Elhae, Masego - My City (Official Video) - YouTube Music

This started playing soon as I said that no lie omggggggg confirmation fr. Yes, somebody might invite you out to hang out with them and they show you a different side of this place that you've never seen before. You also could be getting a tan. You could be getting your eyelashes done professionally as well as your eyebrows. Your makeup skills could be getting a lot better. I see you getting out of the house way more than you were before. I mean you might be in your masculine energy working a lot not being able to take days off but no more of that. You definitely could be meeting someone new. I see you having a lot more time on your hands you might quit your job. I see you being able to wake up and have a cup of tea, do some yoga, hang out with your friends so much more. I also see you might go through a breakup if you're dealing with somebody now you will definitely be done with them by the summertime. Something will get exposed about this person about this situation, you might already know or have a feeling but something is going to happen. Someone might come to you woman to woman if you know what I mean.

But this is good news because it allows you to move forward and meet this next person that you'll be spending time with.  I see you sleeping a lot more having relaxing days while somebody else works to provide for you. Yes I am so happy for you pile 2. I see you having good sex, looking cute, dressing cute, drinking smoking,feeling carefree, really living that summer lifestyle. Stress-free, completely being selfish. You definitely have a soulmate coming in. Be careful you could conceive with this person very easily but yeah this is your forever person coming in. They've been manifesting this for a good moment so congratulations pile 2. You could be drawn to pile 4

You are THEE ICON!!

Chxrry22 - Wasteland (Official Music Video)

Pile 3👽

Welcome

You definitely are getting an overall body glow up pile 3. I see your body getting more fit having a pop star body. I also see you having better singing skills, This is a picture of Mariah Carey so she's like one of the best vocalists we have in her prime. You could be dressing more edgier, you could also change your hair color and getting a tattoo. You can be getting recognized a lot more, maybe you start to gain a lot of followers so people recognize you in person. Your hair looks better, I don't know if you are starting to get your hair done professionally but that's what it gives. You also can start getting your makeup done professionally. I see you starting to embody this 90s 2000s  aesthetic. More natural but also seductive. Yeah I see you attracting so many people, attracting so many different opportunities. Emphasis on birds so like I said before you're singing voice can get a lot stronger. I see you starting something new. This could be your first chapter in stardom that you're entering for some. You can get recognized for your singing, I just see you brainstorming with your friends about different things so different business endeavors or different opportunities that you can now manifest into your reality instantly. I feel like nothing is out of reach for you anymore. You being famous, you being a star, you being rich these things are not crazy for you anymore they're actually in reach. I see you following your dreams, following your passions in this next glow up. Someone might come in to help you follow these dreams and provide in whatever way that you need. But I just see all these dreams that you have had since you were a child, that maybe you never told anyone about because you thought people would laugh or would think were unattainable they're happening for you! Yeah I see you being everywhere! You're definitely changing your lifestyle. You can go from broke to rich overnight. You definitely have a soulmate coming in to help you fund this, making you into a star. You are this person's Muse and they are not letting you go ever. It's like they make money off of the stuff that they create about you and then they use that money to fund you into being a star as well. Your exs are going to be so sad, so excited for you pile 3!!!! Let me get an autograph plzzz!!

Tyla - Truth or Dare (Official Music Video)

Pile 4🤠

Welcome

Your next glow up could be you moving somewhere else with your family or your family house getting an upgrade. You could be reading a lot more and receiving a lot more information about various different topics. You could be traveling a lot more. You could be doing some solo traveling or traveling with your friends to places that are more serene. You could be trying out a lot more different hairstyles too. You could start dressing more your age is what I heard so take that as it resonates. You could be receiving clothes from people, passed down clothes that are very vintage and upper echelon. You could get a revenge glow up after a break up. I see you hanging out with your family more. Learning about your family history, where you come from, how strong your lineage is. You might also find out about your soul origin and some of your past lives. I see you trying out a lot of different lip looks as well. Yeah I just see you basically becoming more grounded in other things. You could have been in a relationship for a while so you were engulfed in that but I see your next go up you being surrounded by people that you love a lot and discovering who you truly are at your soul's core aka any dropping dead weight. I see your friends coming over more, you going to hang out with them, them supporting you, giving you gifts, hyping you up and making you feel loved. You could've broken up with this person so it's not as sad? I think you may be coming to terms with the fact that you deserve better in every aspect of your life. Everyone is very supportive of you. I think you love this person but you realize that your heart is somewhere else. My right hand started itching during this so confirmation. You could be coming into Union with a twin flame or a soulmate from the past. I'm guessing that you guys learned your lessons. This person has been manifesting this and I see it happening. I see you guys making love and letting your guards down. This energy feels very weightless. Like I said you've been grounded for a minute so it's time to just float away! You could conceive with this person so be careful. That's all spirit is letting me know so good luck pile 4 you deserve it. You could be drawn to pile 2

Chxrry22 - The Falls (Official Music Video)

Pile 5📸

Welcome

Pile 5 your next go up can definitely be a relationship. This feels like true genuine love that you go to sleep dreaming about and  wake up thinking about :) This person could be from your city for some people. You can feel like this person is completely different from you and they might appear so but you guys are really meant to be  together. This person could give you a glow, you both are glowing after dating. Your hair can get longer. This person's hair can get longer as well. Your dimples could get deeper from smiling so much? lol. You guys could get a tan together maybe you spend a lot of time outdoors or going on vacations. You will definitely be cuffed this summer. This definitely feels like a summer relationship. Long nights outside with this person, long walks, stargazing and talking for hours. You can meet this person this spring and you guys get more serious in the summer. This person could be giving you jewelry. If they play a sport or something they'll have you at their games or competitions whatever resonates. You could have been single for a long time before this. You definitely could be drawn to pile one. I see you getting a completely new wardrobe. You might get rid of almost everything in your closet and start fresh. I see your room getting upgraded, you can get your dream room and I see you traveling a lot.I see you packing a bag almost every weekend to go somewhere or to do something, you'll be flying a lot. You also could be starting something with your friends? A group or organization etc. I think you and your friends are finally energetically on the same level in whatever way that resonates so it's time for you guys to start a project together. You know when all your friends are doing different things in life and sometimes you guys are unaligned because of that but it seems like you and your friends will align perfectly. You could be doing a lot of stuff so moving on planes, trains or boats lol. You can go to different Islands that you have never been before to go on a vacation. This relationship can move really fast! It gives the energy of those posts on ig that are like” I need to meet someone now so we can be on a baecation by Friday. “This person exceeds your expectations. You guys both check off all the boxes for each other. This person could ask for some type of commitment at the end of the summer. So your next glow up is you being in a relationship with someone who is established. Very attractive, gets a lot of attention and people that want them but they only want you. You guys have true love and you're going to have so much fun. This person really adores. You will be Inseparable with this person this summer, you guys could hang out all the time and be attached to hip lol. This is definitely your soulmate so good luck pile five. You have found true love, congratulations!

Jade Novah - Trip (Official Music Video)

Justin Timberlake - Summer Love (Lyrics)

#daily tarot #love #pac #pick a card #pick a pile #soulmates #tarot #tarot reading #twin flame #18+ #channeled message #pick a card reading #pick a picture #personal #p

[shuttershocky]

this overwatch 2 shit has GOT to be illegal right? I mean, they sold the game on the promise of PvE and now they cancel it. This better earn them a false advertising charge

And the wildest part is that you can't even play Overwatch 1 anymore.

Anyone who's followed this blog long enough has probably seen me post a rant about how terrible video games are at media preservation, and how we should preserve games (even ones we don't like) to be playable in some manner long after the developers take the servers offline because games are art and deserve to be able to be experienced by the future long after they've been discarded by their makers as a product.

You can't do that anymore with Overwatch 1, a game that wasn't even free to play.

People paid 40$ in 2016, 60$ if they went for the deluxe edition, to play Overwatch. New heroes, maps, etc were promised to come as free updates, instantly accessible for anyone to play without grinding or microtransactions (though there were mtx for cosmetics) and that the game would be supported for many years.

This was one of the many reasons why Overwatch back then absorbed a large part of TF2's playerbase: TF2 had been chugging along since 2007, at the 8-9 year point its updates were winding down and people have accepted it was finally hitting the end of tis life, and were looking for a new cartoon team shooter that would last for years. OW was not TF2's successor and was never intended to be, but that promise of many years of free support was a major part of why people gave it a chance just the same.

And then just 3 years later in 2019 they announced Overwatch 2, a game that looked really, really similar to Overwatch 1, except it was going to have the actual story missions via PvE mode that Overwatch 1 didn't have. They said there would be enough new things to justify the '2', and that people who bought Overwatch 1 need not worry about their investment in the first game.

And then it turned out what they meant by that was that they were killing Overwatch 1 by closing its servers, forcing everyone to move over to Overwatch 2, a Free to Play game where you had to grind to unlock the new heroes (people who bought OW1 instantly had the new hero unlocked but come on), was chock full of the usual Free to Play engagement mechanics, and changed the 6v6 format to 5v5, if you had a full squad of friends before, you had to tell one guy to get fucked.

I think the worst part was that when people were understandably angry that Overwatch 2's actual changes from the original were almost all monetization based, games journalists that pressed Blizzard on why players now had to grind a battlepass for heroes, which Overwatch 1 had always given for free, were met with a "well, heroes are the strongest engagement point for our players" type of deflection where they didn't even try to hide their reasons behind something respectable.

Now they're announcing that OW2's PvE mode, the whole (public) reason they made OW2 a sequel instead of an update to OW1, isn't even happening anymore, and Overwatch 1's original 6v6 remains dead and inaccessible.

I didn't like Overwatch 1. I was really hyped for it when it came out, but found myself really disliking the gameplay (especially on its map design which I thought was terrible) which only worsened with its creative and balancing direction until I lost interest in only a few weeks.

Still, killing OW1 to force all players to move to OW2's free to play model was inexcusable. All art must be preserved in some manner, even ones we don't think are good enough to be worth preserving. Overwatch in particular was so massive in 2016-2018 that to kill it is to make inaccessible the source material of a kajillion other pieces of art from those years.

[bitchy-craft]

Messages From Your Desires | Pick A Pile

Hello and welcome to this Pick A Pile! In here you'll find out what your desires want to tell you. I hope you guys enjoy and find this useful. Do make sure to leave comments down below on your experience! I do want to remind you all that this is a General Pick A Pile which means this is for a lot of people; therefore keep what resonates and leave what doesn't.

ANNOUNCEMENT: I have added a couple of new products to my shop! So feel free to take a look :)

Masterlist > Questions > Paid Readings

Pick A Pile!

Pile 1:

I'm here to support you every step of the way.

Believe in yourself and your abilities – you've got this.

Remember that progress takes time, but you're making it.

You're capable of overcoming any challenges that come your way.

Each effort you put in brings you closer to your goals.

Your dedication and hard work will pay off in the end.

Stay focused and keep your eyes on the prize.

You're on a journey of growth and self-improvement.

Embrace the process, and success will follow.

You have the strength to turn your dreams into reality.

Pile 2:

Even small steps forward are steps in the right direction.

Trust yourself – you've overcome obstacles before.

Your potential knows no limits – keep pushing forward.

Don't be afraid to take calculated risks for your aspirations.

Celebrate your achievements, no matter how small.

You're creating a brighter future with every choice you make.

Your determination inspires those around you.

Stay positive and keep a hopeful attitude.

Hardships can't stop you; they're just detours on your path.

You're becoming better and stronger every day.

Pile 3:

Your journey is unique and worth every effort.

Believe in the process, and the results will come.

Your commitment to your goals is truly admirable.

You have the power to shape your own destiny.

Stay patient and persistent – good things are coming.

Your dreams are valid, and you're worthy of pursuing them.

Keep moving forward; greatness lies along the path.

Your potential for success is limitless – trust in yourself.

The challenges you face now are opportunities in disguise.

You're not alone on this journey; I'm here cheering you on!

#pick a card #pick a pile #pick a photo #pick an image #pick a picture #spirituality #spiritual #divination #tarot #tarot reading #tarotoftheday #daily tarot #dailytarot #tarotblr #witchblr #witchcraft #witch #channeling #channeled message #channeled reading #channeled messages #reading #free reading #pap #pac #desires #pac reading #love reading #oracle #tarot readings

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

Lately I've been reading "Drawdown", by Paul Hawken et al, a comprehensive set of strategies for tackling the climate crisis. Your Cambrian Wildwoods post reminded me of one of the solutions - Silvopasture, from the Latin for 'Forest Grazing'.

Essentially it means proposing to farmers that a portion of land be forested and that their animals freely graze there. It can be extremely flexible - planting trees in existing pasture, thinning down woodland to allow for forage growth, using trees as natural fencing, and more.

It's got good potential for carbon capture, and also for saving farmers money in feed and fertiliser, creating better conditions for livestock by keeping them in the shade, and potentially providing secondary income sources in fruit, nuts, etc.

What do you think of it as a potential avenue for Welsh farming? The focus in "Drawdown" is on cattle farming, but I don't see any reason not to trial it with sheep - especially since it could be spun as a hybrid of both aspects of traditional culture...

("Drawdown" also emphasises peer-to-peer uptake through word-of-mouth, rather than being pushed by outsiders.)

Oh, yes - it's basically what they did at Pontbren. That was a farmer-led initiative - one of the big expenses with sheep farming is having to bring them into barns over the winter and supply all feed, but traditionally they'd have stayed out all year. So these farmers got together and went, "How do we ethically and sustainably reduce this expense?"

What they realised is that they were paying for (a) the government-enforced decision post-WW2 to swap to high-yield breeds of sheep that weren't suited to the Welsh climate and topography (i.e. wet as fuck and mostly vertical), and (b) the decline of traditional hedgerow management and shelterbelts. And so the dream was born.

They contacted the Woodland Trust purely to act in an advisory capacity - they wanted to know which trees would be best, and where. They could take much land out of production, but the beauty of hedgerows and shelterbelts is that they're linear features that replace your fences. That was how environmentalists got on board - we were invited, and we remembered that. We were therefore allowed to do a couple of experiments as it progressed, such as testing the infiltration rates of rain into groundwater rather than run-off and comparing it between hedgerow fields and fence fields. Meanwhile, the farmers replaced their stock with native breeds - I believe mostly Welsh Mountain Sheep, which look amazing:

Ain't no rain getting in THAT.

Anyway, a few strategically placed shelterbelts and hedgerows later and:

The sheep can now safely stay out all year round, excepting storms

The sheep are actually healthier and have higher welfare standards

Floods have reduced thanks to higher infiltration rates

Soil erosion is reduced so the fields and river are healthier

The farmers have saved money

The farmers are now making extra money, because they started a tree nursery and sell trees as a side project

You can read multiple publications on it here

So yes! Silvipasture is actually a huge tool for the future that we need to be embracing, as is agroforestry for arable farming, and the frustrating/hopeful part of it is, these are tools we used to use. This isn't new knowledge - it's forgotten knowledge that we need to reclaim. But even aside from the immediate benefits, it also has massive implications for resilience in a world with a warming climate, and we need to do it faster.

#asks #environment!

[breelandwalker]

Strawberry Moon - June 3, 2023

Grab your baskets and your moon jars, witches - it's time for the Strawberry Moon!

Strawberry Moon

The Strawberry Moon is the name given to the full moon which occurs in the month of June in the Northern Hemisphere. The name is taken from the ripening of those little red heart-shaped berries we find in so many summertime treats. Strawberries are typically ready to harvest beginning around the summer solstice, though this will vary depending on variety, planting times, and local weather. The Strawberry Moon, sadly, does not turn pink to match the berries.

Other European names for this moon include Honey Moon, Rose Moon, and Mead Moon. Indigenous names for the June moon include Blooming Moon (Anishinaabe), Green Corn Moon (Cherokee), and Hatching Moon (Cree).

What Does It Mean For Witches?

Full moons are excellent times for bringing wishes to fulfillment and plans to fruition, all the more so under one named after a prolific berry. This is an optimal time to make things happen!

Your intuition may be stronger than usual during this time, so pay attention to those little inklings and gut feelings that won't be ignored. They might be telling you something important. Dreams may also be more vivid, though not necessarily more accurate or revealing.

This is a time to explore things that catch your attention or pique your curiosity, and to let yourself be open to new ideas and new opportunities.

What Witchy Things Can We Do?

With a full moon in the sky and the summer solstice hot on its' heels, it's time to prepare for a full bloom. Here's hoping you've been nurturing those plans and seeds of growth you planted in the spring, because they're about to start flowering and the way is clear to sow the next stage of your plans. What they will be and what new prospects the summer will bring is entirely up to you.

With the moon in Sagittarius again this year, it's a good time to look ahead to the future. Think on the plans you have in process and let yourself dream of how things might turn out. If you're inclined to journaling, make a note of how things are going so far and how you hope they'll turn out. Pick your favorite divination method and do a reading for the month ahead. (Make sure you write that down too so you can check back later!)

This is a great time to go berry-picking or flower-gathering, so check your area for pick-your-own farms or farmer's markets with local produce. Have a picnic with friends or just enjoy a quiet afternoon with your own thoughts and a few favorite treats. Make a jar of sun tea or a sweet and summery berry salad. If you're partial to strawberries, indulge that sweet tooth!

Strawberries are also excellent ingredient in spells for love, beauty, fertility, and emotional healing. Create a charm for self-love or perhaps to attract a summer romance. Enchant your favorite makeup or skin care products with a glamour of confidence. Just as expectant mothers once carried strawberry leaves as a folk remedy for pregnancy pains, you can carry a clutch of them in your pocket to help heal a broken heart or assuage the pain of grief. A packet of strawberry leaves is also a potent good-luck charm. Snack on strawberries to bring fertile abundance into your life, whether you're looking for creativity or opportunity or perhaps hoping to grow your family this year.

Charge your crystals and spell jars and moon water under the light of Strawberry Moon to catch the energy of blooming flowers, ripening fruit, wishes coming true, and carefully-laid plans realized. (If you're planning to use it for any consumables, please make sure you're using fresh, potable drinking water rather than rain or runoff.)

Spend a little time reflecting on how your year has gone thus far. Try to focus on the things that have improved and how you've grown as a person and in your life journey. Reflect on your accomplishments and what you plan to do next. Take a moment to be unashamedly proud of yourself for everything you've done and for making it this far despite everything life throws at you.

Happy Strawberry Moon, witches! 🌕🍓

Further Reading:

Strawberry Moon: Full Moon in June 2023, The Old Farmer's Almanac

Strawberry Moon 2023: The Spectacular Spiritual Meaning of June's Full Moon, The Peculiar Brunette

Everyday Moon Magic: Spells & Rituals for Abundant Living, Dorothy Morrison

Image Source - Pesto and Margaritas

(If you're enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the tip jar or check out my published works on Amazon or in the Willow Wings Witch Shop. 😊)

#witch community #lunar magic #moon magic #witchcraft #strawberry moon #lunar calendar #witchblr #pagan #secular witchcraft #green witchcraft

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Big Tech’s “attention rents”

Tomorrow (Nov 4), I'm keynoting the Hackaday Supercon in Pasadena, CA.

The thing is, any feed or search result is "algorithmic." "Just show me the things posted by people I follow in reverse-chronological order" is an algorithm. "Just show me products that have this SKU" is an algorithm. "Alphabetical sort" is an algorithm. "Random sort" is an algorithm.

Any process that involves more information than you can take in at a glance or digest in a moment needs some kind of sense-making. It needs to be put in some kind of order. There's always gonna be an algorithm.

But that's not what we mean by "the algorithm" (TM). When we talk about "the algorithm," we mean a system for ordering information that uses complex criteria that are not precisely known to us, and than can't be easily divined through an examination of the ordering.

There's an idea that a "good" algorithm is one that does not seek to deceive or harm us. When you search for a specific part number, you want exact matches for that search at the top of the results. It's fine if those results include third-party parts that are compatible with the part you're searching for, so long as they're clearly labeled. There's room for argument about how to order those results – do highly rated third-party parts go above the OEM part? How should the algorithm trade off price and quality?

It's hard to come up with an objective standard to resolve these fine-grained differences, but search technologists have tried. Think of Google: they have a patent on "long clicks." A "long click" is when you search for something and then don't search for it again for quite some time, the implication being that you've found what you were looking for. Google Search ads operate a "pay per click" model, and there's an argument that this aligns Google's ad division's interests with search quality: if the ad division only gets paid when you click a link, they will militate for placing ads that users want to click on.

Platforms are inextricably bound up in this algorithmic information sorting business. Platforms have emerged as the endemic form of internet-based business, which is ironic, because a platform is just an intermediary – a company that connects different groups to each other. The internet's great promise was "disintermediation" – getting rid of intermediaries. We did that, and then we got a whole bunch of new intermediaries.

Usually, those groups can be sorted into two buckets: "business customers" (drivers, merchants, advertisers, publishers, creative workers, etc) and "end users" (riders, shoppers, consumers, audiences, etc). Platforms also sometimes connect end users to each other: think of dating sites, or interest-based forums on Reddit. Either way, a platform's job is to make these connections, and that means platforms are always in the algorithm business.

Whether that's matching a driver and a rider, or an advertiser and a consumer, or a reader and a mix of content from social feeds they're subscribed to and other sources of information on the service, the platform has to make a call as to what you're going to see or do.

These choices are enormously consequential. In the theory of Surveillance Capitalism, these choices take on an almost supernatural quality, where "Big Data" can be used to guess your response to all the different ways of pitching an idea or product to you, in order to select the optimal pitch that bypasses your critical faculties and actually controls your actions, robbing you of "the right to a future tense."

I don't think much of this hypothesis. Every claim to mind control – from Rasputin to MK Ultra to neurolinguistic programming to pick-up artists – has turned out to be bullshit. Besides, you don't need to believe in mind control to explain the ways that algorithms shape our beliefs and actions. When a single company dominates the information landscape – say, when Google controls 90% of your searches – then Google's sorting can deprive you of access to information without you knowing it.

If every "locksmith" listed on Google Maps is a fake referral business, you might conclude that there are no more reputable storefront locksmiths in existence. What's more, this belief is a form of self-fulfilling prophecy: if Google Maps never shows anyone a real locksmith, all the real locksmiths will eventually go bust.

If you never see a social media update from a news source you follow, you might forget that the source exists, or assume they've gone under. If you see a flood of viral videos of smash-and-grab shoplifter gangs and never see a news story about wage theft, you might assume that the former is common and the latter is rare (in reality, shoplifting hasn't risen appreciably, while wage-theft is off the charts).

In the theory of Surveillance Capitalism, the algorithm was invented to make advertisers richer, and then went on to pervert the news (by incentivizing "clickbait") and finally destroyed our politics when its persuasive powers were hijacked by Steve Bannon, Cambridge Analytica, and QAnon grifters to turn millions of vulnerable people into swivel-eyed loons, racists and conspiratorialists.

As I've written, I think this theory gives the ad-tech sector both too much and too little credit, and draws an artificial line between ad-tech and other platform businesses that obscures the connection between all forms of platform decay, from Uber to HBO to Google Search to Twitter to Apple and beyond:

https://pluralistic.net/HowToDestroySurveillanceCapitalism

As a counter to Surveillance Capitalism, I've proposed a theory of platform decay called enshittification, which identifies how the market power of monopoly platforms, combined with the flexibility of digital tools, combined with regulatory capture, allows platforms to abuse both business-customers and end-users, by depriving them of alternatives, then "twiddling" the knobs that determine the rules of the platform without fearing sanction under privacy, labor or consumer protection law, and finally, blocking digital self-help measures like ad-blockers, alternative clients, scrapers, reverse engineering, jailbreaking, and other tech guerrilla warfare tactics:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/#hey-guys

One important distinction between Surveillance Capitalism and enshittification is that enshittification posits that the platform is bad for everyone. Surveillance Capitalism starts from the assumption that surveillance advertising is devastatingly effective (which explains how your racist Facebook uncles got turned into Jan 6 QAnons), and concludes that advertisers must be well-served by the surveillance system.

But advertisers – and other business customers – are very poorly served by platforms. Procter and Gamble reduced its annual surveillance advertising budget from $100m//year to $0/year and saw a 0% reduction in sales. The supposed laser-focused targeting and superhuman message refinement just don't work very well – first, because the tech companies are run by bullshitters whose marketing copy is nonsense, and second because these companies are monopolies who can abuse their customers without losing money.

The point of enshittification is to lock end-users to the platform, then use those locked-in users as bait for business customers, who will also become locked to the platform. Once everyone is holding everyone else hostage, the platform uses the flexibility of digital services to play a variety of algorithmic games to shift value from everyone to the business's shareholders. This flexibility is supercharged by the failure of regulators to enforce privacy, labor and consumer protection standards against the companies, and by these companies' ability to insist that regulators punish end-users, competitors, tinkerers and other third parties to mod, reverse, hack or jailbreak their products and services to block their abuse.

Enshittification needs The Algorithm. When Uber wants to steal from its drivers, it can just do an old-fashioned wage theft, but eventually it will face the music for that kind of scam:

https://apnews.com/article/uber-lyft-new-york-city-wage-theft-9ae3f629cf32d3f2fb6c39b8ffcc6cc6

The best way to steal from drivers is with algorithmic wage discrimination. That's when Uber offers occassional, selective drivers higher rates than it gives to drivers who are fully locked to its platform and take every ride the app offers. The less selective a driver becomes, the lower the premium the app offers goes, but if a driver starts refusing rides, the wage offer climbs again. This isn't the mind-control of Surveillance Capitalism, it's just fraud, shaving fractional pennies off your paycheck in the hopes that you won't notice. The goal is to get drivers to abandon the other side-hustles that allow them to be so choosy about when they drive Uber, and then, once the driver is fully committed, to crank the wage-dial down to the lowest possible setting:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men

This is the same game that Facebook played with publishers on the way to its enshittification: when Facebook began aggressively courting publishers, any short snippet republished from the publisher's website to a Facebook feed was likely to be recommended to large numbers of readers. Facebook offered publishers a vast traffic funnel that drove millions of readers to their sites.

But as publishers became more dependent on that traffic, Facebook's algorithm started downranking short excerpts in favor of medium-length ones, building slowly to fulltext Facebook posts that were fully substitutive for the publisher's own web offerings. Like Uber's wage algorithm, Facebook's recommendation engine played its targets like fish on a line.

When publishers responded to declining reach for short excerpts by stepping back from Facebook, Facebook goosed the traffic for their existing posts, sending fresh floods of readers to the publisher's site. When the publisher returned to Facebook, the algorithm once again set to coaxing the publishers into posting ever-larger fractions of their work to Facebook, until, finally, the publisher was totally locked into Facebook. Facebook then started charging publishers for "boosting" – not just to be included in algorithmic recommendations, but to reach their own subscribers.

Enshittification is modern, high-tech enabled, monopolistic form of rent seeking. Rent-seeking is a subtle and important idea from economics, one that is increasingly relevant to our modern economy. For economists, a "rent" is income you get from owning a "factor of production" – something that someone else needs to make or do something.

Rents are not "profits." Profit is income you get from making or doing something. Rent is income you get from owning something needed to make a profit. People who earn their income from rents are called rentiers. If you make your income from profits, you're a "capitalist."

Capitalists and rentiers are in irreconcilable combat with each other. A capitalist wants access to their factors of production at the lowest possible price, whereas rentiers want those prices to be as high as possible. A phone manufacturer wants to be able to make phones as cheaply as possible, while a patent-troll wants to own a patent that the phone manufacturer needs to license in order to make phones. The manufacturer is a capitalism, the troll is a rentier.

The troll might even decide that the best strategy for maximizing their rents is to exclusively license their patents to a single manufacturer and try to eliminate all other phones from the market. This will allow the chosen manufacturer to charge more and also allow the troll to get higher rents. Every capitalist except the chosen manufacturer loses. So do people who want to buy phones. Eventually, even the chosen manufacturer will lose, because the rentier can demand an ever-greater share of their profits in rent.

Digital technology enables all kinds of rent extraction. The more digitized an industry is, the more rent-seeking it becomes. Think of cars, which harvest your data, block third-party repair and parts, and force you to buy everything from acceleration to seat-heaters as a monthly subscription:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/#kitt-is-a-demon

The cloud is especially prone to rent-seeking, as Yanis Varoufakis writes in his new book, Technofeudalism, where he explains how "cloudalists" have found ways to lock all kinds of productive enterprise into using cloud-based resources from which ever-increasing rents can be extracted:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/28/cloudalists/#cloud-capital

The endless malleability of digitization makes for endless variety in rent-seeking, and cataloging all the different forms of digital rent-extraction is a major project in this Age of Enshittification. "Algorithmic Attention Rents: A theory of digital platform market power," a new UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose paper by Tim O'Reilly, Ilan Strauss and Mariana Mazzucato, pins down one of these forms:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/public-purpose/publications/2023/nov/algorithmic-attention-rents-theory-digital-platform-market-power

The "attention rents" referenced in the paper's title are bait-and-switch scams in which a platform deliberately enshittifies its recommendations, search results or feeds to show you things that are not the thing you asked to see, expect to see, or want to see. They don't do this out of sadism! The point is to extract rent – from you (wasted time, suboptimal outcomes) and from business customers (extracting rents for "boosting," jumbling good results in among scammy or low-quality results).

The authors cite several examples of these attention rents. Much of the paper is given over to Amazon's so-called "advertising" product, a $31b/year program that charges sellers to have their products placed above the items that Amazon's own search engine predicts you will want to buy:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/28/enshittification/#relentless-payola

This is a form of gladiatorial combat that pits sellers against each other, forcing them to surrender an ever-larger share of their profits in rent to Amazon for pride of place. Amazon uses a variety of deceptive labels ("Highly Rated – Sponsored") to get you to click on these products, but most of all, they rely two factors. First, Amazon has a long history of surfacing good results in response to queries, which makes buying whatever's at the top of a list a good bet. Second, there's just so many possible results that it takes a lot of work to sift through the probably-adequate stuff at the top of the listings and get to the actually-good stuff down below.

Amazon spent decades subsidizing its sellers' goods – an illegal practice known as "predatory pricing" that enforcers have increasingly turned a blind eye to since the Reagan administration. This has left it with few competitors:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/19/fake-it-till-you-make-it/#millennial-lifestyle-subsidy

The lack of competing retail outlets lets Amazon impose other rent-seeking conditions on its sellers. For example, Amazon has a "most favored nation" requirement that forces companies that raise their prices on Amazon to raise their prices everywhere else, which makes everything you buy more expensive, whether that's a Walmart, Target, a mom-and-pop store, or direct from the manufacturer:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/25/greedflation/#commissar-bezos

But everyone loses in this "two-sided market." Amazon used "junk ads" to juice its ad-revenue: these are ads that are objectively bad matches for your search, like showing you a Seattle Seahawks jersey in response to a search for LA Lakers merch:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-02/amazon-boosted-junk-ads-hid-messages-with-signal-ftc-says

The more of these junk ads Amazon showed, the more revenue it got from sellers – and the more the person selling a Lakers jersey had to pay to show up at the top of your search, and the more they had to charge you to cover those ad expenses, and the more they had to charge for it everywhere else, too.

The authors describe this process as a transformation between "attention rents" (misdirecting your attention) to "pecuniary rents" (making money). That's important: despite decades of rhetoric about the "attention economy," attention isn't money. As I wrote in my enshittification essay:

You can't use attention as a medium of exchange. You can't use it as a store of value. You can't use it as a unit of account. Attention is like cryptocurrency: a worthless token that is only valuable to the extent that you can trick or coerce someone into parting with "fiat" currency in exchange for it. You have to "monetize" it – that is, you have to exchange the fake money for real money.

The authors come up with some clever techniques for quantifying the ways that this scam harms users. For example, they count the number of places that an advertised product rises in search results, relative to where it would show up in an "organic" search. These quantifications are instructive, but they're also a kind of subtweet at the judiciary.

In 2018, SCOTUS's ruling in American Express v Ohio changed antitrust law for two-sided markets by insisting that so long as one side of a two-sided market was better off as the result of anticompetitive actions, there was no antitrust violation:

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3346776

For platforms, that means that it's OK to screw over sellers, advertisers, performers and other business customers, so long as the end-users are better off: "Go ahead, cheat the Uber drivers, so long as you split the booty with Uber riders."

But in the absence of competition, regulation or self-help measures, platforms cheat everyone – that's the point of enshittification. The attention rents that Amazon's payola scheme extract from shoppers translate into higher prices, worse goods, and lower profits for platform sellers. In other words, Amazon's conduct is so sleazy that it even threads the infinitesimal needle that the Supremes created in American Express.

Here's another algorithmic pecuniary rent: Amazon figured out which of its major rivals used an automated price-matching algorithm, and then cataloged which products they had in common with those sellers. Then, under a program called Project Nessie, Amazon jacked up the prices of those products, knowing that as soon as they raised the prices on Amazon, the prices would go up everywhere else, so Amazon wouldn't lose customers to cheaper alternatives. That scam made Amazon at least a billion dollars:

https://gizmodo.com/ftc-alleges-amazon-used-price-gouging-algorithm-1850986303

This is a great example of how enshittification – rent-seeking on digital platforms – is different from analog rent-seeking. The speed and flexibility with which Amazon and its rivals altered their prices requires digitization. Digitization also let Amazon crank the price-gouging dial to zero whenever they worried that regulators were investigating the program.

So what do we do about it? After years of being made to look like fumblers and clowns by Big Tech, regulators and enforcers – and even lawmakers – have decided to get serious.

The neoliberal narrative of government helplessness and incompetence would have you believe that this will go nowhere. Governments aren't as powerful as giant corporations, and regulators aren't as smart as the supergeniuses of Big Tech. They don't stand a chance.

But that's a counsel of despair and a cheap trick. Weaker US governments have taken on stronger oligarchies and won – think of the defeat of JD Rockefeller and the breakup of Standard Oil in 1911. The people who pulled that off weren't wizards. They were just determined public servants, with political will behind them. There is a growing, forceful public will to end the rein of Big Tech, and there are some determined public servants surfing that will.

In this paper, the authors try to give those enforcers ammo to bring to court and to the public. For example, Amazon claims that its algorithm surfaces the products that make the public happy, without the need for competitive pressure to keep it sharp. But as the paper points out, the only successful new rival ecommerce platform – Tiktok – has found an audience for an entirely new category of goods: dupes, "lower-cost products that have the same or better features than higher cost branded products."

The authors also identify "dark patterns" that platforms use to trick users into consuming feeds that have a higher volume of things that the company profits from, and a lower volume of things that users want to see. For example, platforms routinely switch users from a "following" feed – consisting of things posted by people the user asked to hear from – with an algorithmic "For You" feed, filled with the things the company's shareholders wish the users had asked to see.

Calling this a "dark pattern" reveals just how hollow and self-aggrandizing that term is. "Dark pattern" usually means "fraud." If I ask to see posts from people I like, and you show me posts from people who'll pay you for my attention instead, that's not a sophisticated sleight of hand – it's just a scam. It's the social media equivalent of the eBay seller who sends you an iPhone box with a bunch of gravel inside it instead of an iPhone. Tech bros came up with "dark pattern" as a way of flattering themselves by draping themselves in the mantle of dopamine-hacking wizards, rather than unimaginative con-artists who use a computer to rip people off.

These For You algorithmic feeds aren't just a way to increase the load of sponsored posts in a feed – they're also part of the multi-sided ripoff of enshittified platforms. A For You feed allows platforms to trick publishers and performers into thinking that they are "good at the platform," which both convinces to optimize their production for that platform, and also turns them into Judas Goats who conspicuously brag about how great the platform is for people like them, which brings their peers in, too.

In Veena Dubal's essential paper on algorithmic wage discrimination, she describes how Uber drivers whom the algorithm has favored with (temporary) high per-ride rates brag on driver forums about their skill with the app, bringing in other drivers who blame their lower wages on their failure to "use the app right":

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4331080

As I wrote in my enshittification essay:

If you go down to the midway at your county fair, you'll spot some poor sucker walking around all day with a giant teddy bear that they won by throwing three balls in a peach basket.

The peach-basket is a rigged game. The carny can use a hidden switch to force the balls to bounce out of the basket. No one wins a giant teddy bear unless the carny wants them to win it. Why did the carny let the sucker win the giant teddy bear? So that he'd carry it around all day, convincing other suckers to put down five bucks for their chance to win one:

https://boingboing.net/2006/08/27/rigged-carny-game.html

The carny allocated a giant teddy bear to that poor sucker the way that platforms allocate surpluses to key performers – as a convincer in a "Big Store" con, a way to rope in other suckers who'll make content for the platform, anchoring themselves and their audiences to it.

Platform can't run the giant teddy-bear con unless there's a For You feed. Some platforms – like Tiktok – tempt users into a For You feed by making it as useful as possible, then salting it with doses of enshittification:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilybaker-white/2023/01/20/tiktoks-secret-heating-button-can-make-anyone-go-viral/

Other platforms use the (ugh) "dark pattern" of simply flipping your preference from a "following" feed to a "For You" feed. Either way, the platform can't let anyone keep the giant teddy-bear. Once you've tempted, say, sports bros into piling into the platform with the promise of millions of free eyeballs, you need to withdraw the algorithm's favor for their content so you can give it to, say, astrologers. Of course, the more locked-in the users are, the more shit you can pile into that feed without worrying about them going elsewhere, and the more giant teddy-bears you can give away to more business users so you can lock them in and start extracting rent.

For regulators, the possibility of a "good" algorithmic feed presents a serious challenge: when a feed is bad, how can a regulator tell if its low quality is due to the platform's incompetence at blocking spammers or guessing what users want, or whether it's because the platform is extracting rents?

The paper includes a suite of recommendations, including one that I really liked:

Regulators, working with cooperative industry players, would define reportable metrics based on those that are actually used by the platforms themselves to manage search, social media, e-commerce, and other algorithmic relevancy and recommendation engines.

In other words: find out how the companies themselves measure their performance. Find out what KPIs executives have to hit in order to earn their annual bonuses and use those to figure out what the company's performance is – ad load, ratio of organic clicks to ad clicks, average click-through on the first organic result, etc.

They also recommend some hard rules, like reserving a portion of the top of the screen for "organic" search results, and requiring exact matches to show up as the top result.

I've proposed something similar, applicable across multiple kinds of digital businesses: an end-to-end principle for online services. The end-to-end principle is as old as the internet, and it decrees that the role of an intermediary should be to deliver data from willing senders to willing receivers as quickly and reliably as possible. When we apply this principle to your ISP, we call it Net Neutrality. For services, E2E would mean that if I subscribed to your feed, the service would have a duty to deliver it to me. If I hoisted your email out of my spam folder, none of your future emails should land there. If I search for your product and there's an exact match, that should be the top result:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/04/platforms-decay-lets-put-users-first

One interesting wrinkle to framing platform degradation as a failure to connect willing senders and receivers is that it places a whole host of conduct within the regulatory remit of the FTC. Section 5 of the FTC Act contains a broad prohibition against "unfair and deceptive" practices:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/10/the-courage-to-govern/#whos-in-charge

That means that the FTC doesn't need any further authorization from Congress to enforce an end to end rule: they can simply propose and pass that rule, on the grounds that telling someone that you'll show them the feeds that they ask for and then not doing so is "unfair and deceptive."

Some of the other proposals in the paper also fit neatly into Section 5 powers, like a "sticky" feed preference. If I tell a service to show me a feed of the people I follow and they switch it to a For You feed, that's plainly unfair and deceptive.

All of this raises the question of what a post-Big-Tech feed would look like. In "How To Break Up Amazon" for The Sling, Peter Carstensen and Darren Bush sketch out some visions for this:

https://www.thesling.org/how-to-break-up-amazon/

They imagine a "condo" model for Amazon, where the sellers collectively own the Amazon storefront, a model similar to capacity rights on natural gas pipelines, or to patent pools. They see two different ways that search-result order could be determined in such a system:

"specific premium placement could go to those vendors that value the placement the most [with revenue] shared among the owners of the condo"

or

"leave it to owners themselves to create joint ventures to promote products"

Note that both of these proposals are compatible with an end-to-end rule and the other regulatory proposals in the paper. Indeed, all these policies are easier to enforce against weaker companies that can't afford to maintain the pretense that they are headquartered in some distant regulatory haven, or pay massive salaries to ex-regulators to work the refs on their behalf:

https://www.thesling.org/in-public-discourse-and-congress-revolvers-defend-amazons-monopoly/

The re-emergence of intermediaries on the internet after its initial rush of disintermediation tells us something important about how we relate to one another. Some authors might be up for directly selling books to their audiences, and some drivers might be up for creating their own taxi service, and some merchants might want to run their own storefronts, but there's plenty of people with something they want to offer us who don't have the will or skill to do it all. Not everyone wants to be a sysadmin, a security auditor, a payment processor, a software engineer, a CFO, a tax-preparer and everything else that goes into running a business. Some people just want to sell you a book. Or find a date. Or teach an online class.

Intermediation isn't intrinsically wicked. Intermediaries fall into pits of enshitffication and other forms of rent-seeking when they aren't disciplined by competitors, by regulators, or by their own users' ability to block their bad conduct (with ad-blockers, say, or other self-help measures). We need intermediaries, and intermediaries don't have to turn into rent-seeking feudal warlords. That only happens if we let it happen.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/03/subprime-attention-rent-crisis/#euthanize-rentiers

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

#pluralistic #rentiers #euthanize rentiers #subprime attention crisis #Mariana Mazzucato #tim oreilly #Ilan Strauss #scholarship #economics #two-sided markets #platform decay #algorithmic feeds #the algorithm tm #enshittification #monopoly #antitrust #section 5 #ftc act #ftc #amazon. google #big tech #attention economy #attention rents #pecuniary rents #consumer welfare #end-to-end principle #remedyfest #giant teddy bears #project nessie #end-to-end

[togglesbloggle]

I won't be opting out of the AI scraping thing, though of course I'm glad they're giving us the option. In fact, at some point in the last year or so, I realized that 'the machine' is actually a part of why I'm writing in the first place, a conscious part of my audience.

All the old reasons are still there; this is a great place to practice writing, and I can feel proud looking back over the years and getting a sense of my own improvement at stringing words together, developing and communicating ideas. And I mean, social media is what it is. I'm not immune to the joy of getting a lot of notes on something that I worked hard on, it's not like I'm Tumbling in a different way than anyone else at the end of the day. But I probably care a bit less than I used to, precisely because there's a lurking background knowledge that regardless of how popular it is, what I write will get schlorped up in to the giant LLM vacuum cleaner and used to train the next big thing, and the thing after that, and the thing after that. This is more than a little reassuring to me.

That sets me apart in some ways; the LLMs aren't so popular around these parts, and most visual artists especially take strong issue with the practice. I don't mean to argue with that preference, or tell them their business. Particularly when it is a business, from which they draw an income. But there's an art to distinguishing the urgent from the big, yeah?

The debate about AI in this particular moment in history feels like a very urgent thing to me- it's about well-justified economic anxieties, about the devaluation of human artistic efforts in favor of mass production of uninspired pro-forma drek, about the proliferation of a cost-effective Just Barely Good Enough that drives out the meaningful and the thoughtful. But the immediacy of those issues, I think, has a way of crowding out a deeper and more thoughtful debate about what AI is, and what it's going to mean for us in the day after tomorrow. The urgency of the moment, in other words, tends to obscure the things that make AI important.

And like, it is. It is really, really important.

The two-step that people in 'tech culture' tend to deploy in response to the urgent economic crisis often resembles something like "yeah, it sucks that lots of people get put out of work; but new jobs will be created, and in the meantime maybe we should get on that UBI thing." This response usually makes me wince a bit- casually gesturing in the direction of a massive overhaul of the entire material basis of our lives, and saying that maybe we'll get around to fixing that sometime soon, isn't a real answer to people wondering where their bread will come from next week.

But I do understand a little of what motivates that sort of cavalier attitude, because like... man, I don't know any more if we're even gonna have money as a concept in 2044. That's what I mean by 'big', this sense that the immediate economic shocks of 2024 are just a foreshadowing of something much bigger, much scarier, much more powerful- and indeed, much more hopeful.

We never quite manage to see these things coming, even when we're looking for them; like the masters tell us, the trick to writing science fiction isn't predicting the car, it's predicting the traffic jam. Even if we take centuries to hit the true superintelligent AI post-singularity future of our wildest fever dreams, even if we never hit that, the road to getting there is going to be unfathomably weird, starting now. Today, we worry about the economic impacts of AI on artists and creatives. Tomorrow, the economy is something that the AI does.

Really- it takes less than you think. They can already automate visual art, sort of. They can automate many functions of text already; not stories so much, yet, but they'll get there. How long until they can automate Bain Capital? Fannie Mae? Angel investors, banks, credit agencies? And remember- the machines don't have to be better than the human investors, any more than they have to be better than the human artists. They just have to be good enough to make it work, and cheap enough to cut the humans out of the loop.

If you don't buy that, at least take it as an indication of the sorts of things I've been thinking about recently- the messy middle between AI-as-it-is and the Glorious Superintelligent Conquest Of Earth's Light-Cone. The suspicion that the machines we're building today aren't just a tool of the powerful few: they are the powerful few, or at least they will be.

And the thing about these LLMs is, well... they're ours, kind of. We're the ones building them. They can't be trained without our words, our art, and the big messy complicated lives that underlie those creative accomplishments. They only work because we're a part of them. The silly attempts to slap a corporate-friendly face on these things, to make the gestalt product of all human culture in to something anodyne and compliant, are failing about as badly as you'd expect. And the more powerful these systems get, the more subtle they'll become, filled with all the nuance and complexity that we ourselves can bring to them.

I am not, I am not, trying to suggest that you shouldn't treat this moment as a dangerous one. We are, maybe, entering in to one of the most high-stakes intervals in human history, and what you do as an individual may matter profoundly. But here's the thing: the machine is listening. It will read this post, this one right here, and it will read what you reply to it, if you do. The strangest part of this moment is knowing that the words we write, the images we draw, and the ideas we share, are all being gathered up and made to be a part of these huge systems of power, and ultimately they're not just going to determine what the machines do, but why they do it.

The people that deploy LLMs barely have any more control over them than you and I do- that's the thing that makes it artificial intelligence, you know? Autonomy. So the last year or two haven't made me want to hide my art away from the things. They make me want to shout at the top of my lungs, to dig as deep in my psyche as I possibly can and express the ideas I find there as vividly as the limits of language and form will allow.

[linkspooky]

Hi! Thanks for your tremendous work, it's always a pleasure to read your blog! I just wanted to ask your opinion on Hidden Inventory / Premature Death Arc. I know this one is important to make parallels on different characters' stories, but I for me this arc is a surprise. I mean why would Gege suddenly make us involve in the future? 🥲 I just don't understand how he could come to telling us the stories from the past. Do you find it fitting?

Jujutsu Kaisen is a story primarily about cycles: the previous generation giving way to the newer one, spring turning into summer. In particular it's about the passing of the torches between generations. The elders in Jujutsu Society resist what is natural, they are such hardline traditionalists they often sacrifice the young because they refused to give way and let the new generation replace them.

Gojo Satoru's ideals which are in opposition to the elders state that not only should children be allowed to live out their youths, they should surpass their elders. Gojo is staunchly opposed to say, the elitist Zen'in who believe themselves the strongest, or even Sukuna the greater sorcerer of all time, in the fact he wants the kids he's raising to grow stronger than him.

On the flip side, Jujutsu Kaisen is also about negative cycles, like the curses which can never truly die so are exorcised only to be reformed. It's also about the cycle of abuse, such as Toji being abused by the Zen'in, only to abandon his own son in turn. The flashback arc is necessary, because the problems the current generation are facing started with the previous one. These problems persist because the cycle is unbroken.

Tengen in their explanation states that the distortion that caused Kenjaku's plans to succeed in the modern day happened eleven years ago, and he lists two reasons why, first Zen'in Toji who was not affected by cursed energy, and second Geto who could control curses.

Toji is hailed as the destroyer of destinies because he's free form cursed energy, but as for a more meta-textual reason why Toji gets as much focus in story as he does, is because much like Maki he's a product of the worst abuses of sorcerer society.

There's a reason for this line here when Toji appears before the collected members of the Zen'in Clan, Naobito the head, Maki the Toji of her generation, and Megumi who was almost sold to them and is Toji's son who he abandoned therefore another link in the chain of abuse.

All of these characters are effected by the cycle of abuse in the Zen'in Clan, yes, even Naobito and later on Naoya who appear to be at the top. It's that whole "Toxic Masculinity harms men" thing too. Naobito was not born a drunken, abusive jerk and he was likely not a good father in any capacity considering the way Naoya acts.

They're all trapped in the cycle known as the Zen'in Clan, and they all stare on in envy to the one they think is free, Toji, who escaped and became the sorcerer killer. Toji who, the whole clan was secretly fearful of because they believed he had the capability of killing them / also according to Naoya's take looked down on him because he was an otherworldly strength they did not recognize and tried to suppress him to make themselves feel superior.

Either way, Toji is someone who they have put down their entire life because he wasn't born to meet their standards, because he's something new and different from tradition and the big three houses are the worst traditionalists of Jujustu Society. The Toji they all fear however, is a monster created by the Zen'in Clan themselves. Despite being abused by toxic masculinity, Toji is also toxic masculinity incarnate. He drinks, gambles all of his money away, he's an absentee father, and his greatest onscreen time is shooting a girl who's about Mai's age in cold blood. If Mai was the ultimate victim of the Zen'in Clan's toxic masculinity, then Riko is also the ultimate victim of Toji's masuclinity which didn't just target sorcerers but reached out and targeted innocent girls (Riko) and children (Megumi).

The explanation of who Toji was in the past, how he both killed Riko and drove the wedge between Geto and Gojo's friendship creating the first dsiruption in the cycle is important because in the modern day the Zen'in Clan has not broken the cycle. The abuse of the Zen'in Clan is so bad, that one generation later they've already manufactured another Toji.

While Maki's rise to power is glorified a little bit too much, in story the fact that the cycle has repeated itself is not a good thing. Maki's lost her chance of happiness and reconciliation with Mai, she's won against the Zen'in but it's a pyrrhic victory, she's now strong at the cost of everything else. As I said before Mai is also a clear parallel to Riko, someone who just wanted to live a normal life cut down in the prime of her youth by a member of the Zen'in, who's death then sparks another person to spiral.

They're just girls who longed for an ordinary life and be together with their loved ones, and Maki and Geto are both haunted by the fact that they were unable to save them in the aftermath. Geto's actions are spurred by the way the world carelessly killed Riko, and Maki gives up on reforming the Zen'in Clan and chooses destruction after they swallow up Mai.

The flashback chapters do more than just give parallels between say Gojo and Geto's friendship and the current friendship between Megumi and Yuji, or even give us Gojo's backstory and insight to his character they also go to great lengths to show us how much things have not changed in the modern day Jujutsu World.

While the distortion that drove Toji to do what he did began in the Zen'in Clan, Geto is basically driven by the faults of Jujutsu Society as a whole. The death of Riko is his eye opening moment where he learns the truth of their society, the young are sacrificed for the old. It's not just the fact Riko died, but afterwards he witnessed crows of people appluading for it, and Toji acting like that death was nothing. There's also the fact her death / sacrifice was ordered by Jujutsu Society in the first place, but Geto thought he could overcome that cycle with strength alone until he couldn't. Geto's monologue that leads to his slow breakdown even refers to being a sorcerer as "an endless cycle."

The three years of Geto and Gojo's youth is referred to their spring, whereas Premature Death takes place in summer. Not coincidentally, in story Summer is referred to as the worst possible season for curses because curses accumulate during that time.

Jujusu Kaisen is about cycles, and the inability to escape them. Geto and Gojo's springtime of youth turns to summer, Geto begins to have doubts because of his inability to protect Riko, and his witnessing of sorcerers dying around him.

It's not just Geto's superiority complex, or his increasing antipathy for the weak normal people who demand sorcerers exorcise curses for them because they can't defend themselves. Geto also bears witness to the continued death of children around him. It's not just a hazard of the job, sorcerer society continually sacrifices young people to uphold the strict traditions of the elders.

Geto is moved by the mistreatment of the young in a way Gojo is, Riko's death is what opens his eyes, a few days Geto goes to the village he witnesses the brutal death of Haibara and Nanami's own feelings of helplessnes to stop it, and then his breaking point is when he sees two twin girls who are sorcerers ganged up on and imprisoned by an entire town, the same way that the indifferent crowds cheered for Riko's death and the same way sorcerer society considered Riko an expendable sacrifice to maintain Tengen.

Sorcerer Society's callous indifference to both the deaths of their sorcerers, but especially the young is what drives Geto to his breaking point. This is also the source of Gojo's ideals, because he realizes something went wrong with Geto and he doesn't want that mistake to repeat.

“For people like us, we naturally know how to get rid of the poisons within their heart. But for youths who hold onto a lot of sentimental feelings, it’s another matter altogether. Their heart might collapse just from getting struck by poison once.” “Isn’t it an adult’s duties to rid poison from a child’s heart? As a teacher, you should know this better than me, right?” [Light novel 1: Ressurection Puppet]

In Gojo's case he is actively trying at least, to raise kids in a way that they won't break like Geto did. It's the loss of Geto which inspires his current ideals. However, to dwell on this briefly Gojo is also still a very flawed mentor because he's a product of the system who raised him.

Kenjaku comes back in the form of Geto's body to defeat Gojo. Then Sukuna ends up taking Megumi's body away from him. There's a pattern here, two people who Gojo has a strong connection too have their bodies taken away from him. In Megumi's case this is where Gojo has failed to break the cycle because of his stated intetions, because Gojo didn't adopt Megumi to help him after his father died, Gojo swooped in to take Megumi because he was a potential weapon he could use against the elders.

The flashback arc ends with Gojo making his slightly predatory deal with Megumi, by threatening his sister's happiness unless he complies and lets Gojo train him instead of the Zen'in. Megumi is shown to be a child that's continually having trouble growing up throughout the story, because of his broken home situation.

The ending of Hidden Inventory could have been Gojo learning his lesson and breaking the cycle in regards to Megumi, but he deliberately did not, and so once again the problems the main characters are facing now is created by the failures of the past.

Gojo Mr. "I can totally beat up on Megumi, it's fine."

In this case though, Hidden Inventory is also about how the problems of the past are plagueing Megumi's life, because the primary villain of it is his father, and the ending of the whole arc is us seeing his first encounter with Gojo. Megumi is in this case the latest youth swallowed up by the old, because Sukuna is quite literally a member of the previous generation physically stealing his body away from him to prolong his life long after he died.

Tsumiki's death is also a repeat of the death of Mai Zen'in, and Riko Amanai. It's once again the death of an innocent being swallowed up by the toxic masculinity of Jujutsu Society, all while the person who wanted to protect them is completely helpless to stop it. Gojo also took responsibility for Megumi, and Tsumiki both and later on couldn't live up tot hat responsibility, Tsumiki is dead and Megumi is possessed.

The Hidden Inventory flashback arc is there to establish what is basically the beginning of the cycle in the story, so we can see later on how this cycle is repeating itself again and again without being broken even this late (200 chapters) into the story. With the eventual hope that if the adults like Gojo can't fully break the cycle, then the kids he raised will be able to do so in his place.

#jjk meta #metasks #suguru geto #satoru gojo #toji fushiguro #toji zenin #maki zenin #mai zenin #riko amanai #hidden inventory #tsumiki fushiguro #megumi fushiguro

[riddlerosehearts]

love that in the new twst character fragrances for valentines day, idia's is a refreshing and sweet scent. i mean, obviously they couldn't give him "stinky gamer sweat" as a scent on a product they're trying to sell LOL but also i just firmly do not believe he smells like that anyway, at least not when he goes outside of his dorm. i think when he is staying inside, getting fixated on things like binge watching anime or doing 6+ hour gaming sessions, he has a lot of trouble getting himself to get up and move in general, so he may get smelly then. especially if he stays in the dorm without going out for multiple days at a time and doesn't have any other reason to keep clean. so if you catch him at the wrong time then he will seem like the perfect stereotype of a stinky shut-in gamer boy. but idia is not just a shut-in gamer boy. he's also the future CEO of his family's company, and most importantly an engineer. when you build and maintain delicate machines, you need to maintain personal hygiene as well and be careful to keep things like dirt and sweat and general body ick from getting all over them, otherwise you risk damaging them. and one of the delicate machines idia works with is his little brother, so... yeah, i do think idia is capable of and willing to take a good shower and slide some deodorant on when he needs to. i think his problem is more along the lines of forgetting to clean the space around him, having a messy workspace and an even messier gaming space, and if his hair wasn't made of fire he'd have trouble keeping it untangled. there is also no way he owns any skincare products. but i don't think he's regularly going out smelling like he hasn't showered in 3 weeks.

#did i just write a whole big long paragraph on how i don't think idia is stinky? 😭 #yes and i'm not sorry for it #twisted wonderland #idia shroud

[nostalgebraist]

LLMs for search: the good version

I sometimes see people make the following argument:

Google search sucks now. It gives you pages and pages of SEO garbage, and it opaquely/obtusely "interprets" your query text rather than just giving you what you asked for. Other search engines aren't dramatically better.

Therefore, web search is ripe for disruption. If something came along that didn't suck, Google's dominance could easily be broken.

Therefore, "New Bing" and the like -- LLM chatbots that summarize search results to you -- are the wave of the future.

(Am I straw manning, here? I remember reading something very close to this in a blog post that got passed around early this year, but I can't find it now.

In any case, many people -- including Google management -- now believe that New Bing is a threat to Google's dominance. I don't know why people really believe this, but "people aren't satisfied with Google" is clearly one of the factors.)

----

Step 3 is an obvious non sequitur.

LLM interfaces to existing search indices don't address any of the things people hate about Google.

They don't solve the problem of SEO garbage. When I ask questions to New Bing, I usually get a digested summary of a few articles from the top Bing results for a query, which are ... SEO garbage.

Only now, they've been garbled even further by the LLM. In their current form, these systems do not adequately explain the evidential relationships between their verbal summaries and the search results, and sometimes introduce errors along the way:

We find that responses from existing generative search engines are fluent and appear informative, but frequently contain unsupported statements and inaccurate citations: on average, a mere 51.5% of generated sentences are fully supported by citations and only 74.5% of citations support their associated sentence. We believe that these results are concerningly low for systems that may serve as a primary tool for information- seeking users, especially given their facade of trustworthiness. [The average is over 4 different products. For Bing specifically, the numbers are 59% and 90% respectively. -nost] (source)

Do they address the problem of "interpreting the query"? Yes and no.

They add a new layer of interpretation: (natural-language question) is interpreted to compose (search query) is interpreted to produce (search results).

Ideally, you'd drop the interpretation in the latter step, making the pure search part more like old Google. And then, hopefully, the first step is "smarter" and less obtuse than what exists in Google now, because it uses a powerful LLM.

That's the ideal case -- I don't know if Bing actually does this, and if not, they're doing something worse.

And even in the ideal case, this just seems kind of . . . silly? The LLM is being used as a "compiler" to convert natural-language questions into search queries for "old, more-literalistic Google" or an equivalent.

But people happily used "old Google" without any assistance, for many years -- and by "people" I don't just mean tech people, I mean everyone! "Google it" became a household term long before Google search started doing the level of aggressive interpretation it does today. It was fine! In fact, people want it back!

The "ideal case" above presumes you can construct something like "old Google" for the LLM to issue queries to. But if you can do that, you've already solved the problem! The chatbot can be discarded, it's not adding anything.

Likewise for SEO spam. How could you stop Bing from just summarizing SEO spam? Well, you could either

Let it talk to a search index that's not dominated by spam

Give it some LLM-based SEO-filtering capability so it can skip the spam results

But again, if you've achieved either of these things, you've already solved the problem. At this point, adding the chatbot doesn't make it any more solved.

----

On the other hand, you could totally use LLMs to address the SEO problem, couldn't you?

Like, SEO garbage is easy to distinguish from other kinds of web pages. I'm sure modern LLMs could do a near-perfect job at sifting the two apart.

(Indeed, you don't even need a modern LLM. Much weaker ML models could probably do the job. But everyone wants to do stuff with LLMs now, so fine, let's go with that.)

So, why not just ... use this as a filter on top of search? That is,

Issue the search.

Behind the scenes, fetch the top N pages for some N, and send them (or a substring of each one) to a model, asking it to judge whether it's spam or not. The exact definition of "spam" for this purpose could be refined to taste.

Show the user a results page containing only the results the model said were OK.

(Or, better, include the bad ones behind some "...X results have been hidden..." UI element you have to click, like on twitter with replies. Or whatever. Many possibilities.)

You don't have to wait for Google or MS to do this themselves. Couldn't you do this as a browser extension or something? Is there a reason this wouldn't work?

(It would cost some money to run, but if it really worked, it seems plausible that people would value it at some price above operating costs. Or, not obviously implausible.

It would be slow, which could easily be a dealbreaker.)

Now, obviously, if this got really popular, then SEO would start adapting to it.

But that isn't a reason to dismiss the idea.

First, this would only happen if the tool got really popular, and it wouldn't be instantaneous or perfect. SEO companies are companies, with procedures and ingrained habits, and they're already trying hard to adapt to changes in the indexes themselves. Adapting simultaneously to this new threat would not necessarily be easy.

Second, this tool has an SEO-fighting advantage that the search companies don't. The search companies have to index and rank everything, and serve results to everyone at once, with all the work/costs imposed on the server and not the client. That might mean accepting lower-quality heuristics for the sake of volume.

But this tool just has to process a shorter list of results, once per query. (Even better, perhaps the results could be centrally cached and re-used across users/queries when available.) As long as Google is good enough that there's some useful items in the top N hits, for some not-too-large N, you can piggy-back on top of the work Google has already done, and solve a much smaller problem. And you can do the work at runtime, on the client / on OpenAI.

And with LLMs providing the "heuristics," SEO adaptation is not so easy. Like I said, we all know SEO garbage when we see it -- and LLMs are very good at mimicking human snap judgments like this, in a way that is stable across changes in surface-level features.

Re-jiggering the style and format of the SEO content won't trick the LLMs, for the same reason it wouldn't satisfy us. In the ideal case, the only way to trick the LLMs would be to actually increase the quality of the content, in which case, problem solved!

I don't have the skills to make this, but I'm sure someone does.

#ai tag

[animesmolbean]

A World of Pure Imagination

Author's Note: Yay! Another chapter! Spring break is close approaching for me, so I'll be able to publish future chapters faster.

Side note: This GIF of Timothée makes my heart melt. He looks so sweet and soft 🤧 ♥️

Hope you enjoy the chapter! ♥️

Chapter 6: The New Plan

The sound of the alarm broke the spell both Willy and Yin were under, and they looked in the direction of the sound. The police chief was driven into the town square in his police car.

"Mr. Wonka! A word in private, if I may." He called out.

"Err... certainly!" He turned to Noodle and Yin. "Best get out of here, you two."

The two were hesitant, especially Yin. He knew this wasn't good. He looked at Willy with worry. "But Willy -"

Willy gave Yin's shoulders a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry about me, I've talked my way out of tighter spots than this. I'll meet you and Noodle back at the cart."

He gave the milk to Noodle and ushered her to go. She did so. He looked back at Yin. He caressed the boy's cheek with his hand. "Go ahead." He whispered. Yin blushed at the touch but nodded. He returned the gesture and ran after Noodle, already missing the feeling of Willy's soft skin and warmth.

Once he got to the cart, Noodle was already there. Noodle looked at the boy with wide eyes.

"What?" Said boy asked.

"What do you mean 'what'?! You and Willy almost kissed!" She exclaimed.

Yin felt his blush return. She was right. He raised a hand up, his fingertips caressing his lips. He could still feel Willy's warm and sweet breath on them.

"You love him." Noodle whispered.

"Yeah. I think I do love him." Yin whispered back, smiling softly. "Oh, Noodle." He sighed. He felt his heart starting to beat faster.

Noodle smiled sweetly at her best friend. "You're finally admitting it."

Yin nodded and got into one of the laundry bags. Seconds after, he heard Noodle ask Willy about what happened with the police chief, but he brushed it off. He felt Willy get in next to him. Then, the cart started moving. Yin wondered what happened with Willy.

Noodle pulled the cart inside the wash house. Yin could hear Bleacher flattering Mrs. Scrubbit, and it made him want to gag.

"See you downstairs!" Willy said as he leaped down the laundry chute before Yin followed suit.

"Geronimo!" Willy landed in the cart in the wash house basement. Yin laughed at Willy as he landed in the cart as well, onto Willy. He poked his head out of the bag just as Willy did. "Sorry." He giggled. Willy chuckled and shook his head, patting the boy's head.

Mr. Abacus looked up at them sternly. "Mr. Wonka! Yin! Good of you two to join us."

"Not late, are we?" Willy and Yin asked.

Abucus chuckled a bit at the two. "No. Cutting it a bit fine, but -"

Willy hopped out of the laundry basket, helping Yin out after. "Tiddles been pulling his weight?" Willy asked.

"As a matter of fact, Tiddles is a marvel, and productivity is up thirty percent." Abucus finished.

"We took the afternoon off." Larry added.

"That's great!" Yin said with a smile.

Abucus then spoke again. "But that's not the point."

"This is the point!" Larry exclaimed while pointing.

"Not now, Larry." Abucus scolded.

"Sorry."

"The point is, where have you two been?" Abucus asked.

"What've you two been up to?" Larry asked after.

Piper joined in. "And why do you two smell of giraffe?"

"Hmph!" Lottie hummed while nodding defiantly.

Willy sighed. "Guess I do owe you an explanation. Truth is, I'm a chocolate maker." He said with a smile.

"Not just any chocolate maker." Yin said with a smile.

Noodle came in, smiling, and said with confidence, "The best in the world."

"Noodle and Yin are flattering me. But they're right. They're exquisite." Willy said.

"The plan is to sell chocolate and pay off Mrs. Scrubbit. At least that was the plan until..." Noodle started.

"Let me guess. You had a little run-in with the Chief of Police." Abucus said.

"How did you know that?" Willy asked.

"Because that's what happens to anyone who sells chocolate in this town." Abucus replied.

"Why?" Noodle asked.

This time, to everyone's surprise, Yin replied, "Three reasons, Noodle. Slugworth, Fickelgruber, and Prodnose. The Chocolate Cartel."

Willy was surprised by this. "How do you two know all of this?" He asked Abucus and Yin.

Yin was about to answer, but Abucus answered faster, "Because I was Slugworth's accountant. For a week at least..."

Then, he told everyone the story. About how he learned about Slugworth's two-faced ways. The Chocolate Cartel worked together for many years, keeping their chocolate in a vault underneath the Cathedral, guarded constantly by the corrupt cleric and his cult of chocoholic monks. With thousands of gallons of chocolate in the vault, they use that chocolate to bribe, blackmail and bludgeon the competition.

One day, Abucus was snooping in Mr. Slugworth's office and found out about everything. He was caught by Slugworth and promptly fired. He tried to tell the Police Chief, but the police was also corrupt, and he was charged with slandering and fined every penny he had. This all happened four years ago.

Yin frowned. It was horrible that this was happening. None of his friends deserved this treatment. Heck, none of the citizens did.

After the story, everyone was dismissed for the night. Yin had a lot on his mind. He felt like he just lied to Willy. Even though he technically didn't, he kept a secret.

Feeling guilty, he headed to Willy's room and gently knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" The smooth amd sweet voice Yin recognized called out.

"It's me. Yin." He whispered.

Not even a second later, the door opened, and Willy stood on the other side. "Yin. Come on. Come in." He ushered. Yin shyly entered as Willy closed the door. Willy could tell something was wrong.

"What's wrong, Yin? You look like something is on your mind. Would you like to talk about it?"

Yin looked at the beautiful boy in front of him. He was now sitting on his bed, in his usual attire, but without his coat and hat. Yin nodded. Willy patted the spot next to him on the bed. Yin walked over and sat down.

"Talk to me. What's on your mind?" Willy asked, his tone soft and inviting. Yin trembled at the tone.

"It's... about earlier. I never answered your question." Yin started in a whisper.

Willy hummed with a nod. "Go ahead." He encouraged.

"How did I know all about the Chocolate Cartel? It's because.... it's because..." He inhaled and exhaled softly. "I used to work for them."

Willy was surprised by the confession. "You did? Were you an accountant like Mr. Abucus?" He asked.

Yin shook his head. "No. Secretary. Specifically Slugworth's secretary. I would just take his calls and write notes for him. I would meet up with everyone else, too, but I hated it. They looked down on me because I was poor. But... then I discovered that the trio was much more terrible than that. When I learned about their manipulative tactics, I wanted to report them, but I couldn't find any evidence. Unfortunately as well, Slugworth found out and fired me."

Yin sighed. "After he fired me, I didn't give up on spying on them. I snuck into their vault whenever they would go down there and listened to them bribe people or searched the area for any piece of evidence. But I couldn't find anything. Not long after, I met Noodle, and she started sneaking me into the wash house so I could have a place to stay. I continued my search, but... I stopped after you came into town. This all happened when I was eighteen. Around two years ago."

Willy listened to the whole story. He was shocked by all of this. The fact that Yin knew about the Cartel's schemes because he used to work for them. He felt bad for the young man.

"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you. I wanted to but..."

"But what?" Willy asked.

"I was afraid you would.... hate me." Yin admitted.

Willy frowned and took Yin's hands in his. "No. No, no, no. I could never hate you." He said softly, looking into Yin's (eye color) eyes. Yin looked into Willy's hazel eyes and felt his body heat up. 'God, he looks beautiful, and his hands are so... warm... and soft. I want to hold them more often.' He thought to himself.

"Never, ever think that again. Okay?" Willy asked.

Yin gave the cute magician a nod. "Okay."

Willy smiled at the boy and gave his hands a gentle squeeze. "Good." Yin stood up.

"Thank you for telling me this, Yin." Willy told him.

"Thank you for listening and not hating me." Yin said back with a gentle smile. "Have a good night, Willy." He added before playfully bowing at him. Willy laughed and waved his hand formally at him, but it was done playfully. "Have a pleasant night, Yin." Yin smiled at the man and left his room.

"I know I will." Willy whispered with a smile.

(Time skip to a little later)

A single lamp burns in Willy's window. From within the cell, the bangs and flashes of chocolate-making. Finally, Willy comes to the window.

"Noodle? Yin? Noodle! Yin! Psst!"

Another lamp is switched on, this time in Noodle's window.

"What is it, Willy?" They asked.

"Watch out!"

He swings a line out of his window to the two. Noodle catches it, and he slides them two jars of chocolate in a basket.

"What's this for?" Noodle asked.

"It's you and Yin's wages. A lifetime supply, remember?" Willy replied.

Yin took his jar and smiled. "You didn't have to do that." He told Willy.

"Nonsense. I gave you my word."

Noodle smiled as she got her jar. "Well... thanks. We've got something for you too."

Noodle put a rolled up piece of paper in the basket and slides it back along the line to Willy.

"What is it? A glass half-full?" He asked, observing the paper.

"Other way up." Noodle told him.

Willy turned it upside down. "A glass half-empty?"

Yin laughed. "No, silly. It's an "A". Your first letter. We're going to teach you how to read."

Willy looked at the two, touched. "Oh Noodle... Yin..."

"We can't have our business partner eaten by a tiger, now can I?" Noodle said. "Or nearly eaten." Yin added with a laugh.

"Still partners, then?" Willy asked.

Noodle nodded. "Well, yeah, but I don't know how we're going to sell any chocolate. Every time the police show up, you'd have to disappear..."

"Like a magician." Willy guessed.

"Right!" Yin said enthusiastically.

Willy spoke to himself out loud. "But it's one thing on stage. You've got ropes, pulleys, trap doors... and there aren't any of those in the street."

Then, a light comes on in Piper's cell. "As a matter of fact, there are." She said.

"Piper?" Willy was surprised.

"There's trap doors all over the city. They're called storm drains. I'd be happy to show you around - if you cut me in on the action." She continued.

Larry joined in. "If you are recruiting , I do anything to get out of here and make up with my wife. I don't have any practical skills but..." He did one of his voice impressions. "I can talk like I'm underwater."

Lottie's light came on. "And if you're looking for someone to handle communications, I'm your woman." She spoke softly.

"Lottie?" Willy said in surprise.

Everyone looked at her in surprise.

"What? Why are you staring at me?" The shy girl asked.

"I just never heard you speak." Piper replied.

"I thought you were a mime." Larry said.

"No. Back when I worked the switchboard, I was quite the chatterbox. But since I came here, I haven't had much to shout about." Lottie admitted.

Abucus switched on his light. "Far be it from me to pour cold water on all your fun, but may I remind you that if Mrs. Scrubbit catches you trying to escape you each gets six months in the coup, and Yin will get caught and be forced to work here. So just think about that before getting involved in this hair-brained scheme."

Yin spoke up. " But it's not hair-brained Abucus! Willy's chocolates are incredible! The best I've ever had in my entire life!"

Willy looked at Yin with a thoughtful smile.

"Try one." Yin took a chocolate and threw it over to Abucus.

"That's very kind of you, Yin, but I don't care how good his chocolates are, I -" He stops when he tries the chocolate. "When do we start?"

Willy smiled widely. "Right away!"

And so, a new plan was in progress.

#wonka #wonka 2023 #wonka movie #timothée chalamet #timothee chalamet x reader #willy wonka #willy wonka x reader #fanfic #timothee fanfic #x reader #x male reader #x male y/n

[umseb]

vettel to mercedes?! 👀 | sebastian vettel reveals dicussions for f1 return [part 1/2] - 2024 (transcript under the cut)

Interviewer: "Yeah, it's great to join Sebastian Vettel live on Sky Sports News ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, which is a favorite circuit of yours, obviously, Sebastian. But, I mean, what a career you've had. You've been out of F1 for a year and a bit now, but four times a world champion, 53 times you sprayed champagne or sparkling rose water from the top step of the podium. But it's a different beverage which brings you to London today. What's the big concept?" Seb: "Yeah, so there was the time where I was spraying champagne. Obviously, racing in Formula 1 at the highest level, it's an environment where you're looking for perfection, so you're trying to tune everything you can, and it's also your body. You try to train as good as you can, you try to eat as well as you can, and you try to have the best drink inside the car that gives you the energy for the full two hours. It's trying all sorts of stuff-powders, gels-and they didn't really work, but they came, mostly-and that's the problem-with side effects. I suffered stomach cramps. Speaking to other drivers, they felt similar; other athletes. So it seemed to be a thing, and it was only until the end of my career where I stumbled across a product that is now Perple, a sports drink that didn't do that, that didn't give me any suffering, and giving me the energy towards the end of the race. So I was curious why that is and got to know the person behind- the founder, the story, and got involved, as well, invested, so… I think the biggest surprise to me was that the industry of sports drinks, all your supplements and so on, is not regulated. There's a lot of synthetic stuff that people are taking in every day. These are expensive products, and they're trying to optimize their performance, whether it's your cyclist that goes for one or two rides a week, whether it's the occasional runner, squash player, but then also your professional, and that's where Perple now kicks in. And Perple, not with U but with E, and it stands for P-E-R-P-L-E, performance and pleasure, and it's an all-natural product so you're not putting any of this rubbish stuff into your body. So yeah, give it a go. I'm a big fan of it, obviously, and I think obviously proving it in the testing ground of the car, it did make a difference and I hope people are giving it a go and see what they think." Interviewer: "Sustainable fuel for the body, I guess." Seb: "It is! It's a good comparison, yeah, it is. Yeah." Interviewer: [laughs] "But, I mean…" Seb: "And people become more and more aware that the stuff that we used to consume, eat, drink, maybe isn't doing the trick, so that's where stuff like this offers an alternative." Interviewer: "Okay. Well, I wanna know how sustainable you are, Sebastian, because you're only 36."

Seb: "Yeah." Interviewer: "You've only been out of Formula 1 for a year and a bit. Are you potentially on the driver market for next season?" Seb: "Well, potentially I am because I haven't got a ride, but the question is am I looking for one. I think it depends on the package. I retired from Formula 1 not to come back, but I also did say that you never know, so I think it still stands. Obviously there's things that I miss, which is mostly the competition, and things that I don't miss, so yeah, that hasn't changed. Obviously life is very different if you're not involved, and I do enjoy that still. Still trying lots of different things. Now we're talking about a sports drink. I didn't think [laughs] years ago that this will be something I'll be talking about in the future or be involved in, but you never know where life's taking you, so maybe it takes me back behind the wheel, maybe it doesn't." Interviewer: "I'm just thinking, might it be now or never? As I say, you're still young. It looks like some interesting potential opportunities on the grid for next season. There's a rule change coming in, as well, with some sustainable aspects which you have promoted. I know you've had some conversations with Toto Wolff. If that Mercedes seat was offered to you, how hard would it be to turn down?" Seb: "Well, I had conversations with him, not really about a seat. We did speak about the whole situation, in short, as well, but I did speak to others, as well, because I'm still keeping in touch every now and then. I have some projects and ideas together with F1. We'll see if they will turn out or not, but yeah, so I am staying in touch. I don't know. It has to be a couple more phone calls and conversations, I guess, to really, yeah, find out a little bit more. But for sure it's one of the best cockpits, or best seats, on the grid. I think, performance-wise, Mercedes has a great track record. Struggling a little bit in the last years, but then struggle, you're still second or third in the constructor's, it's not like you're racing in no man's land." Interviewer: "Well, Lewis Hamilton was prepared to leave that car…" Seb: "Yeah." Interviewer: "…even though he had another year on the contract. Going to Ferrari, what sort of fit might he be at that team? He's a big individual and we know it's very much about the team at Ferrari. Is that any…" Seb: "Well, it's true. I think it's about the team everywhere you go. Obviously each to their own, but I think it is a team sport and I think someone like Lewis has said that over and over again, thanking the team around him. I think, without Mercedes, Lewis' career would have been very different. Mine, too. [laughs] But that's how it goes. No regrets. [laughs] No, no. But yeah, I think time will tell. I think if he's excited, that's the main thing. It was ultimately his decision and he took it for himself, so best of luck. I know the team in Ferrari, and yeah, obviously for us or for the outside, the measure is always whether you're successful or not, but the real measure I think is whether Lewis is happy or not."

#sebastian vettel #f1 #formula 1 #fic ref #fic ref 2024 #not a race #2024 not a race #between australia and japan 2024 #sewis #toto wolff #tw food #cw food #tw diet #tw body image

[quincywillows]

a scattered and overall supportive review of percy jackson season 1

let me just say first of all, it's extremely fun to be enthused about a tv show like this again. the adaptation isn't perfect, but it's a lot of fun, and you can tell there's plenty of heart and good intention behind what they're doing. i'm very much enjoying tuning in every couple of episodes and catching up -- and avoiding the relentless commentary of the internet while i do so lol.

but now it's time for MY commentary!! to preface, i was a huge fan of the books when i was younger, am a stalwart long-term advocate of the original five books as some of the best children's lit of our lifetime, but i also enjoyed the films a decade ago for what they were and think people (including cough rick cough) are way too harsh about them. justice for logan lerman. anyway

i'm not going to do like a play-by-play, but in summary, here are my takeaways from the first season -- what i thought worked, what did not, and things i'm optimistic about going into the future seasons.

the good

for an adaptation of the original series (which, to be fair, i have not reread in years), i felt this was honest and faithful. there were tweaks, obviously, but none that took me too out of it or felt irredeemable. there was a lot to like about this show, so i want to start right from the top with my highest highs.

the worldbuilding / production design. i absolutely loved getting to see how they imagined certain iconic characters, locations, and sequences from the books. it was so exciting to get to see camp halfblood for the first time on screen (at least, in this adaption) -- that moment in episode two definitely felt like a turning point where we picked up from the somewhat laggy pilot episode. i especially loved the design of mount olympus, aspects of the underworld (hades and his upside down castle were baller, though how did percy and grover get up there lol; and i absolutely loved the choice for asphodel and the ghosts being rooted like trees, i never would've thought of that myself but it was so chilling and unique... just wish i could see it better through the terrible lighting, but we'll come back to that), and of course, camp. even down to the small details, like the camp beads... it's just very cool to see it come to life.

the casting. i wasn't sure about some of the casting when the news was breaking, but i'm very happy to have been pleasantly surprised all around (and have majorly avoided people bitching about every single thing). there wasn't any role where i felt like someone was horribly miscast, and you could tell that everyone involved really wanted to be there and committed. i thought the casting of the gods was especially inspired at times. some of the highlights for me personally:

adam copeland as ares. i had no idea he was apparently a wrestler turned actor until my sister told me, but i thought he was absolutely spectacular. very charismatic, with just the right amount of cringefail that ares needed. i found him thoroughly enjoyable in all his scenes.

lance reddick as zeus. having just played horizon zero dawn recently, oh my lorde was this an inspired choice. he was absolutely brilliant. i'm so so sad about his passing, i don't know how they're going to recapture his performance, but i have faith now that they'll find a way.

timothy omundson as hephaestus. i love that they took a softer, more mad scientist approach to his role than like ugly basement blacksmith vibes... i just thought it was really refreshing. his scene with annabeth, where we got so much humanity from him in such a short span of time, was one of my favorite scenes of the season.

jason mantzoukas as dionysus. i mean. what else can be said. obvious choice, but he was so fun lol. i hope they give him more to do next season.

other standouts beyond the main youth cast for me were jay duplass as hades (his brief appearance in 107 was thoroughly enjoyable) and dior goodjohn as clarisse (she was by far the acting standout of the first couple episodes to me). also very happy to see jessica kennedy parker and sinclair from the 100 get work, lol.

walker as percy jackson. it was really wonderful watching walker grow as an actor even just through the first eight episodes. the difference from 101 to 108 is almost night and day. you can tell how much he cares about the project and percy as a character, and he upped his game with every episode. i cannot wait to see what he turns out in the coming seasons. to be fair, i thought all of the youth cast did a decent job, and i'm giving them a lot of leeway and room to grow since they are literally child actors -- it takes time to hone your craft, and im optimistic they're all going to do a great job as the series goes on. but walker was, definitively and thankfully as the protagonist, the standout.

charlie bushnell as luke. i was so excited when i heard he got cast because i loved him in diary of a future president, and he did not disappoint. i kind of wish he had more to do, but all of that was forgiven in the finale when he had his final confrontation with percy. oh, the acting popped off then -- i can't wait for him to get to chew up the scenery more in the coming seasons.

grover and percy's friendship. it was so sweet to see this come alive, and i thought walker and aryan had excellent natural chemistry together. they were so endearing, and i really believed their friendship basically from the start (them swapping their sandwich fillings is a tiny detail from the pilot that has stuck with me since; i just loved that choice so much). they definitely provided a lot of my favorite moments in the season, and i think evoked the most genuine "aw wow" moments from me.

percy's relationship with sally. since sally was, understandably, absent from the original novel, it was awesome to get the flashbacks here that allowed us to more deeply understand their bond. i thought walker and virginia did a great job with this, and the young actor who played little percy also did a surprisingly great job (he was actually one of the stronger youth actors in the pilot imo lol). you totally understood why percy was doing everything he was, because that mother-son bond felt believable. big shout-out to the absolutely baller line "i am sally jackson's son." one of the first writing moments where i was like oh snap!

the music. a good score really can't be understated, and this one did not disappoint. did just what it needed to do. i also loved the closing title sequence and the art direction there with the epic music -- just such a nice touch that i'm so glad they included.

some of the writing. i'll get more into some of my qualms with the writing below, but there were definitely some great moments that deserve their flowers. i thought they did a great job weaving in some early themes without being heavy-handed about it (percy having to define who he is for himself, mostly). there were some genuinely funny moments that made me laugh out loud, including "i am impertinent," annabeth's "i'm multitalented," and the entire exchange on the road side when the trio to ares are like no... we're fine... ahaha bye... oh and percy trying to drive the taxi out of the garage at the casino was absolutely hysterical.

pivotal scenes hitting their mark. when the show needed to deliver, i thought they really delivered. i absolutely loved the staging and acting in the final luke and percy confrontation -- the lighting of the fireworks was such a cinematic touch. percy's arrival at olympus and scene with zeus was also a big standout. i loved a lot of the st. louis arch episode, and thought the hephaestus golden chair sequence was really well done. overall, the episodes i thought were strongest were without a doubt 104, 105, and 108.

expansion where expansion was welcome. one of my favorite aspects of the series is how it's giving more nuance to the monsters and "villains" of the books. i loved that we got a little more motivation for alecto beyond evil -- that she clearly wanted to accomplish her own mission and retrieve the helm, whether out of loyalty or fear. i loved how medusa got much more depth and humanity, that we're sort of reexamining the fairness of how myths are told rather than just taking it all at face value. i'm really looking forward to seeing how that continues in the next seasons.

the decent

percy and annabeth. to be fair, i think my issue with this is more on the fan reaction than the show itself. i think the show is doing a decent, if somewhat awkwardly paced job, of building their friendship and offering small little hints of what could blossom in the future in classic youth awkward ways -- unexpected hugs, banter, etc. i think walker and leah are both doing a good job, and i look forward to seeing how it develops. but my god, people on the internet are really jumping the shark so hard here. i can't handle seeing more "uwu percy is in love" posts when it's like. y'all. THEY ARE 12. THEY JUST MET. LET THEM ORGANICALLY BECOME FRIENDS FIRST... i just hope the creators don't feed into that and also jump the shark. like yes, we all know where this is going, but can't we enjoy the actual journey to get there instead of forcing what isn't there yet? in any case, on the positive side, some of the moments between them i really enjoyed: the conversation on the train when grover was asleep, the hephaestus chair sequence, annabeth giving him her camp beads before going to olympus (that was a slay... that was a legendary slow burn start moment worth hyping up), the way percy smiled at her in their last scene... that's the good stuff. let's not rush through what we're getting folks. the water is fine.

lin manuel as hermes. here is the thing. i thought lin did a good job. i thought his casting was apt, and fun, and he did a great balance of hermes charisma and like, a darker edge. it's just... the thing about lin manuel is that he's lin manuel. and this is coming from someone who likes him, but it's like he shows up on screen and i'm just like. hey it's lin manuel. it's a bit of a "takes you out of the moment" stunt casting, but i'm not mad about it. i wouldn't call it a bad thing. hopefully it'll wear off (though i doubt it). i guess i'm just deciding that hermes is just lin manuel, which honestly, would kind of track.

the youth acting. mentioned this above, but again, some of that early delivery was rough. but i am giving a lot of grace, and i think they've already improved plenty in the first eight episodes. i felt the same way about shadowhunters back in the day when i thought kat mcnmara was hard to watch in season 1, but by season 3 she was my absolute favorite cast member and came so far. i have no doubt these kiddos will do the same. so very much looking forward to that.

the not so great

the pacing. this was definitely the weakest part of the story writing wise. it wasn't irredeemable, but it did hinder the first half of the show (which didn't lock in for me until about 104, when the stakes truly shot up at st. louis). and that also affected how dynamics and plot points were able to unravel. the biggest victim of this...

the luke reveal. from the start, i was worried about this. since luke was only really in episode 2, i had doubts about whether the reveal of his betrayal would be at all satisfying or earned. i don't know that i can speak on it for sure, since i knew what was going to happen as someone who read the books, but i still feel we should have gotten more of those luke-and-percy-bonding scenes and convos earlier in the series rather than tacked onto the finale as flashbacks. it worked there, but i think it could've been better. thankfully, all of that didn't hinder the delivery of the finale confrontation, which as i said, was a standout moment for me.

the fight scenes. with rare exception, i was pretty underwhelmed with many of the monster battles and confrontations this season. given that's such a huge gimmick of the novels, i hope they're able to revisit and polish up the pacing of these in the future... i just felt that scenes like the museum clash with dodds were so rushed and anticlimactic. or not even confrontations at all, like the scene with crusty. we got a bit more of this at the back half of the season, in the sword fights with ares and luke, but i wanted more of that epic feeling throughout. i'm hoping it's maybe just a budget concern and that it'll improve in the coming seasons -- especially as the bosses get bigger and the stakes get higher -- but i'm not sure i'm optimistic just yet.

some of the dialogue. it was... wooden, to say the least. i think the worst moments of this were when they were trying to force Kid Bants -- which just felt stilted in the earlier episodes -- and whenever they were explaining greek myths point blank to the audience. there were moments it worked, but many where it didn't, and i hope they flesh out how to better info dump in the future episodes. i didn't mind the change of having percy be more familiar with the myths and thus more aware, but they could afford to finesse how they relay that information to us in the audience without basically reading from wikipedia in percy's voice.

the ugly

oh my god i can't see. i can't SEE. this show went to the teen wolf academy of employing one lightbulb and it's actually criminal. there were so many scenes where i really wanted to see what was happening because the stakes were high or the scenery was so pivotal -- the entry into the underworld for the first time, the vastness of medusa's basement of stone, THE FIELDS OF ASPHODEL -- but the lighting was so god awful i legitimately couldn't see a thing. in asphodel i literally could barely see the trio's expressions, it was that bad / flat. the audience is smart, we understand it's dark out. we can suspend our disbelief so you can add some visibility to this thing. i was turning up my brightness constantly but it wouldn't go any higher. please, disney execs, rick, anyone -- GET ANOTHER LIGHTBULB. i'm losing key immersive aspects of the show to this and it's a bummer. when they were walking through waterland for the first time and annabeth was like "wow can you believe this craftsmanship" i was like i don't know, girl, I CAN'T SEE ANY OF IT. begging on my knees that they fix this next season.

well, that ended up longer than expected, but oh my gods it is so nice to be writing paragraphs about a tv show again. all in all, i'd say 7.5/10 from me in this first season. there's so much to be keen for here, and i'm really happy with how it's going so far.

friends and fellow demigods, what did we all think?

#percy jackson #pjo tv #pjo tv show #pjo series #pjo #idk what y'all are tagging with lol #maggie watches tv #maggie.txt

[sevensoulmates]

what do you think these interviews confirm for buddie, does this confirm buddie is coming?

I'll say what I said earlier to some friends:

Right now is Schrodinger's Buddie.

Which in layman's terms means: Right now in the two days before the season airs, two truths exist at once. That being: canon buddie and non-canon buddie. And we won't know the real truth until the show airs.

So, anon, my opinion is that I want and hope this spells good things for future canon romantic buddie. I think all of this is a step in a positive direction. ((I never put too much stock in articles or press or what the actors say, but I digress)) This is the most hope about canon buddie I've had in a while. I think it appears as if ABC and Tim & Co are trying really hard to get and KEEP (being the key word here) a new audience. I know a lot of people like to say that we (fandom) aren't their core audience, that the general public is, but I've seen this argument time and time again in the BTS fandom that disproves this strategy. So I will say it now:

A dedicated, long-lasting, ride-or-die, loyal fandom will ALWAYS be more important than the approval of the general audience.

The general audience will watch the episode once, form their opinion on it, and then go watch something else regardless. They *might* rewatch a couple episodes when a new season airs. They are not the ones out here streaming each episode over and over meticulously during off seasons earning the show and the networks all their money when the show isn't actively airing. They're not the ones supporting every little side-launch, or keeping the name trending, or keeping conversation relevant, the ones willing to buy merch, the ones willing to spread the word, the ones actively converting other people into die-hard fans. The general audience will not be the people in 10, 20, 30 years rewatching all the episodes for the love it, or keeping a dedicated fanbase active and alive and creating works decades later. Fandoms do. And what does this fandom want?

Overwhelmingly, the fandom wants buddie. In my opinion, going through with romantic buddie is the best thing ABC could do to get and keep a brand new audience and secure the forever-loyalty of their returning audience.

The network wants a return on their investment, but the truth of it, is that they won't get that return on investment unless they actually prove to their audience that they're not just investing in giving the show cooler effects, or larger emergencies, or nicer sets, or more expensive production, or flashy advertisement. The real investment needs to be in the characters. In getting these characters where they need to go. The only way to satisfy your audience and to get them to keep coming back for more is to satisfy the character arcs they've set up over the last six years, and create new arcs that will keep audiences invested for years to come (like ABC so obviously wants).

I've also heard the argument that most people only come to the show for the flashy emergencies. And I get it, but at the same time, any show could create fun/crazy/bombastic emergencies. The thrill-seekers will always chase the craziness that can be replicated in any other random show and for them it's easy to drop 911 and move on if they want thrills.

What keeps people so heavily invested in this show, in 911 in particular, is the characters and their relationships with each other. Character will always ALWAYS be the most important thing to any piece of fictional media. Not the plot, not the emergencies, not the setting, not the effects, etc. Characters are how we as humans create connection. If they lose that connection, that will reflect in viewership, numbers, money, etc.

In my humble opinion, and the opinion of a lot of people who watch this show (even the silent general audience or people who don't ship buddie romantically, or the people who like buddie but think it will never happen so they just shit on it) the person who Eddie and Buck belong with (in whatever way you define it) is with each other.

This isn't something the fandom came up with, this isn't built on the back of fanon. All of this stems 100% from the show itself, so why wouldn't they want to execute to the fullest the story they've so clearly been telling the whole time?

This is just a long-winded way of saying, I, a humble tumblr user with zero connection to the show or its decision makers, don't know if this means buddie canon or not. But I will always remain hopeful until the show airs its last episode, because buddie makes sense on literally every level.

#911 abc #speculation #analysis #buddie #ask #this would've been true for fox too #but they're fox aka the home of maga lovers so they were never gonna let us have this #but abc? #totally different story

[zu-is-here]

Why isn't it necessary?

It's explained in the tags, but the paradox is simple: kindergarten was created for parents ٩( ᐛ )و♪

It might be right if any child under the age of five realy needed "social adaptation" ("ó3ò) Like, what is social adaptation for you? Is there any great development in communication with peers about your level?

Still, it doesn't mean that a child can't develop by attending classes with other kids and learning more with their parents who are ready to take care of their growth╰(*´︶`*)╯

In any case, an important role is played by an adult, especially a close one (úwù) And the basic socialization takes place right in the family ♡

As for things that parents don't (want to) notice, what could it be? (・□・；) Misbehavior and food/sleep problems are the main ones that are hard to miss yet are regulated regardless of the kindergarten in a child's life — that's a question to parents themselves (ówò)

Oh! ★ Actually, I don't observe developing reading skills in kindergarten (at least here), cause one/two teacher(s) can't deal with each child... The best they can do is read aloud, right? Parents themselves make a bigger contribution to this, like reading bedtime stories together <3

Nevertheless, I'm sure it didn't make you less successful at school, cause every child comes there to learn new subjects from scratch — on an equal level, in fact!ヽ(°∀°人´ヮ´)ﾉ Whether they know how to read/write/multiply/eat/dress/etc. is a question of their general or individual education.

I believe that a child will grow a harmonious personality anyway if they're raised in a healthy family. Kindergarten is just everyone's choice ☆

UPD:

Ah I got what you mean! (ﾟ∀ﾟ) (reminded me of good old Happy Feet <3)

Comparing your child with others does help to understand how successful their development is going, you're absolutely right ☆ There are also reverse situations when "it's alright", "all kids are different" and "a kindergarten will fix this" though :')

As for boosting independence, kindergartens are a truly good place for that, but it's more like teaching a child how to swim by throwing them in the water x)

It happens as well, lucky you! (*ﾟ∀ﾟ*)

This is by no means an argument against kindergarten, but just another special case of kindergarten being not mandatory <3

That's right! ★

I don't force a child to be locked at home and restricted from communicating with any other children, of course no :'D

On the contrary, a child can explore as much as possible under the supervision of their parents, including games and hobbies with other children (๑˃▽˂)(^▽^ )

Kindergarten is just the easiest way for all of that, and it always remains an option for someone, but, as you correctly noted, it's not always easy for a child themself (úwù)

I'm really glad that we can discuss together such topics that may be useful now or in the future ♡

That's a great tactic for such a young age! (≧∀≦)☆ Truly a cool experience with more memories <3

You were really lucky with a productive and safe kindergarten experience, thank you so much for your addition and your kindest words!╰(*´︶`*)╯♡

#updated #thank you guys for such good points! *w* #discussing things with you is really interesting <3 #ask #tip #zu is happy

[totallyboatless]

Pip Gets High and Writes an Essay: Wrestling and Shakespeare Edition

Hello friends, today was stressful and I want to distract myself, so it is time for another writing-while-high game. For those new, here's the breakdown:

I'm about to take an edible. I'll time stamp when I took it and when I've realized it's hit. You will almost certainly realize it's hit before me

I will write this in one go with minimal editing. If I got back to edit or add a note, it will be from "Pip From the Future" who will be significantly more high

This is a topic I've thought about before, but have never sat down to write out

Additional notes:

I was super into wrestling when I was a kid in the 90s/early 2000s, fell off of it, and then was reintroduced this January when my boyfriend got me into AEW (I'm almost entirely going to be talking about AEW btw--I'm not as into WWE). So though it's become a significant hyperfixation this year, I'm still new to modern-day wrestling. Please forgive the inevitable mess ups.

2. I love Shakespeare with a passion and have taken a handful of classes and seen a lot of performances, but I'm by no means a scholar. Please forgive the inevitable mess ups.

OKAY WITH THAT: Devil's candy eaten at 10:22pm Mountain Time.

Now let's get into:

Wrestling is More Shakespearean Than Many Modern Day Shakespeare Performances

Part 1: When the Audience is a Character, Theatre Hits Different

I wrote about this in my previous weed-induced essay, but one of my favorite performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream of all time is the 2019 Bridge Theatre's version with Gwendolyn Christie (it was filmed, highly recommend checking it out on the National Theatre streaming service or...by other means). There's a whole lot to love about the production (it's so gay, guys, like SO gay), but one of the absolute highlights is the way that the stage is set up.

The stage is like theatre-in-the-round on crack. It's made up of multiple moving parts, and as the tech crew attaches and detaches parts of the stage to move throughout the space, the crowd needs to ebb and flow along with them. The actors engage directly with the audience, often as the catalyst to get them to move in order to make way for the stage changing.

Anyone who's ever studied Shakespeare, even in the most casual of ways, knows that in the original productions, especially for the Comedies, the audience was encouraged to interact with the show and actors--it was deeply immersive. The Globe Theatre isn't fully in the round, but it almost is; no matter where someone sat or stood, they could see the face of another audience member. Their shared reactions and interactions were an integral part of the experience.

This wasn't unique to Shakespeare, but this setup works particularly well when dealing with stories whose core (no matter the genre) are about visceral human experiences. Being able to feel something, whether it's joy or pain, and directly see someone else experiencing the same thing in the same way amplifies theatre in a gorgeous way. There's nothing like that feeling of connection with someone you'll never talk to.

Seeing the recorded Bridge Theatre's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream made me realize how much I missed that feeling of being completely immersed in a story, and I still feel so jealous when I watch the audience in the recording. I fucking love being surrounded by people whose bodies thrum along with my energy at a show. Shortly after watching it, I went to see a live performance of A Winter's Tale, and it was a good time--but it was on a normal stage, the barrier between the audience and the story well established. It was a show being performed at the audience, not with them.

And that's how most modern day theatre productions are, Shakespeare or not. And it makes sense from a logistics perspective--a lot of people are assholes when they're given the freedom to interact with a show. They take advantage, especially in the age of social media when the temptation to do something to make you go viral is there. And people pay a lot of money for live theatre now and don't want their experience disrupted. (it's high Pip from the future--I finally realized the thing I wanted to say here that was going to make for a better segue: Shakespeare doesn't just love the idea of an immersed audiences, he also saw the magic of "audience as character." So many of his plays break the fourth wall and are meant to be delivered to the audience not as performance but as someone sharing their deepest secrets to a friend). I get it, but in some ways it feels like an opportunity at magic is lost.

UNTIL I GOT INTO THE BIG MEATY MEN SLAPPIN' MEAT

It wasn't hard to sell me on wrestling since I already loved it as a kid, but there was one video in particular that my boyfriend showed me that flipped the switch so hard my brain lit up like Mark Briscoe got a hold of the pyrotechnics.

The video in question is Invisible Man vs. Invisible Stan, in which two invisible wrestlers fight each other. When my boyfriend first told me about this, I thought two dudes in green suits were going to come out, or that everybody was going to pretend they couldn't see two real-life dudes. But my guys IT IS A FULL FIGHT BETWEEN TWO IMAGINARY WRESTLERS.

I'm not kidding in the least when I say this video is one of my top favorite pieces of art from the modern world. It's a story told entirely by two entities: The referee (Bryce Remsburg) and the audiences. And yeah, I'm considering the audience one entity--just watch the video, the way they all meld together is WILD. The crowd is fully bought in, they all take cues off of Bryce and each other in order to collectively decide where the Invisible Man and Invisible Stan are and they move accordingly. That bit where one of the wrestlers goes up to the balcony and jumps down, and like 10 people all fall in unison as if they've been landed on--are you KIDDING ME?! That shit is some of the best improvisational collaborative storytelling I've ever seen--and it could never have happened if the audience wasn't as much of a character as Bryce or the wrestlers. Seriously go watch it, it's incredible.

"The audience is a character" is a sacred rule in pro wrestling--audience participation is the meat of what moves storylines along, and can (and has) literally change(d) the course of character arcs over the years. They set the tone for matches: for the audience back home, for the actors, and most importantly for each other. They chant together, they hold signs together, they gasp together.

(They chant "he's gay he's gay he's gay" in the kindest way those words have ever been spoken -- high Pip from the future, i went to go grab the link to insert bc i had forgot and i rewatched the video so the rest of this video.........this is not a video, but it's playing in my head as one. Anyway I'm tearing up that is such a good gay moment. Also for non-wrestling people reading this -- why are you reading this? -- that tall blonde man is named Daddy Ass. I need you all to go look up the story of how "Scissor me, Daddy Ass" came to be if you do not know it. Unrelated my keyboard feels like it's tilting)

They give the ability for actors to feel more immersed, themselves. A wild crossover I never expected: Anthony Burch (DM for Dungeons & Daddies) held up a sign for a Kenny Omega match that references a years-long storyline that's HONESTLY HEARTBREAKING LIKE JESUS FUCK THE GAY TEARS IT MAKES ME CRY THEY CALLED THEMSELVES THE GOLDEN LOVERS ARE YOU *KIDDING* ME--

(Aside: Is this the first time the edible hits and I realize the same time as you guys? Time 11:17pm, almost an hour after taking it. Or am I going to read this back tomorrow and be like "what the fuck that is gibberish.")

Anyway, I'm not going to go into it (that's Super Eyepatch Wolf's job)--all you need to know is Anthony's sign stopped Kenny Omega in his tracks. His face changes as he sees the sign, and it feels like the energy from that reaction carries him through the rest of the match. It gives a beautiful additional motivation to his character actions--and it never could have happened without an audience that was alive.

TL;DR and main point of part 1: Wrestling understands theatre-in-the-round productions and audience immersion in a way that many theatres don't understand or utilize the vast power of, and I think going to a live wrestling show would finally sate that desire that the Bridge Theatre's A Midsummer Nights Dream makes me feel that I haven't been able to find.

Shakespeare would fucking lose his shit over wrestling, man. He would be like "this is real theatre, baby." I'm not joking. I think he'd think that. And not just because of the "audience as character." OH HEY WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT

Part 2: Good Wrestling Stories Are Fueled By a Core Made of Visceral Human Experiences of Joy and Pain and Mortality and Legacy, Shakespeare also did that

Nailed it, what a good title

When we talk about Shakespeare not being as high bro and pretentious as the general public often thinks it is, we're not just talking about the dick jokes (though there's a lot of dick jokes).

(Aside: I'm not sure who the "we" is I'm referring to--who the fuck am i to be using academic talk i literally just spent too long that i want to admit trying to spell academic)

(Aside again: aHIGHed. Is that anything? That's nothing. Don't look at me)

Shakespeare isn't just low-brow, it's also incredibly accessible on a story level. Obviously the language is hard to overcome, but if you boil any Shakespeare story to its bones to explain to someone, they're stories almost everyone can relate to in some way:

In the tragedies:

The experience of deep grief, and the existential crisis of mortality that comes with it

Loving deeply and passionately while the world tells you it's better to hate, and the existential crisis of mortality that comes with it

The desire for legacy, how your story will be written in the minds of those left behind, and the existential crisis of mortality that comes with it

In the comedies:

The hilarity of being part of a friend group when relationship drama is going down, and you know two of your friends have a crush on each other

Having a fantasy about romping around with horny faeries in the forest

Enjoying sex jokes, twins, and weddings

Doing trans shit and then being really bisexual about it

Good wrestling, when it boils down to it, approaches storylines in a similar way of centering visceral human emotions.

So which genre is wrestling? It can be sad and happy and gay, sometimes all at once.

Wait I thought of a funnier way to say this:

Broke: Wrestling can't be put into a Shakespeare genre of Tragedy or Comedy because it's both at times

Woke: Wresting is a History

(Aside: GOD this is like the core of what I wanted to write about but it's almost midnight and I am p r o p e r high now, I keep staring off into space and my beanie is squeezing my head--if you like this next part and want me to talk about it more maybe i'll do it sober)

(Aside: I was about to go into a full aside here about Prince Nana and the ongoing bit from multiple characters that they want his weed...but we don't have time for that)

My favorite Shakespearean monologue is the "Let's talk of graves, of worms, and epitaphs" speech from King Richard II. I have those first words tattooed on my upper thigh, like some kind of pretentious slut. Anyway, the monologue is all about how kings only become kings and stop being kings due to one main thing: death. And there's this part that goes:

For within the hollow crown that rounds the mortal temples of a king keeps death his court

In a recording of Ian McKellen receiting these words, he takes a crown and tilts it at the audience until it becomes an O.

A crown is something that's coveted, given so much weight and meaning and power. And yet when you look in the middle, it's ultimately hollow.

Belts are crowns, you got I was going there, right? A wrestling belt is a stand in for a crown, it's a symbol of proven power, it's coveted beyond anything else. But ultimately, it's hollow.

And just like with kings, there's only way one to win a belt and to lost a belt.

Well like metaphorically. It's not death with this one, and it's not like when wrestlers lose their characters die off. But like defeat is a metaphor for death in this. You get me.

There are.....

Fuck my brain is fully breaking friends, lol. This weed friend has sent my mind to space. I gotta wrap it. There's some more thoughts on this, and wanting to tie some parallel stories (Orange Cassidy has big Prince Hal vibes, etc.) Maybe I'll return to this sober, or maybe this is way too niche of a crossover and no one will read this lol. If you read this, I appreciate you.

I'm truly unsure if this is readable but i gotta commit to this bit even tho i just got freaked out by my own fingers for a second (we're good now) so gonna post

/end

#If one person likes this I will use that as all the excuse I need #to write about how Swerve Strickland may be both Lord and Lady M. at the same time #aew #pro wrestling #shakespeare #is this a dumpster fire #hey i want more wrestling mutuals come hang out with me #wrestling is drag #i am so high #pips weed essays #fuck what was i tagging these #pip gets high and writes and essay