#Innovative machine learning projects

[rupasriymts]

Best Machine Learning Projects For students

Hello guys!!! Today I came up with an exciting Machine learning projects for students to who are looking for final year projects. Takeoff Edu group Provide the opportunity to develop and increasing their machine learning skills.

Machine learning projects allows the students entry to the realm of latest technologies which artificially conducts the intelligence activities, where they can apply different data-driven methodologies to solve actual life challenges and produce new opportunities.

These projects help students develop their critical thinking and problem-solving capacities as well as being a powerful tool for building a comprehensive view of the different machine learning algorithms, approaches, and tools.

Titles for Machine Learning projects for students:

Latest:

A machine learning approach to predict the result of League of Legends

Leaf Disease Detection for Agriculture Industry

Motion Detection Using Background Subtraction Technique In Surveillance

Trendy:

Object Detection Using Tensor Flow In Shopping Malls

Handwriting Recognition for Vegetable Merchant

E-commerce Sales Prediction Using Listing Keywords

Android Fruit Detection Using Tensor flow For Blind People

Working hands-on, learners can delve into various areas of study—healthcare, finance, agriculture, etc.—to manage numerous algorithms simulating a virtual environment and employing machine learning techniques to analyse complicated datasets, forecast outcomes, and make productive recommendations. Communication and team working skills within multidisciplinary teams are boosted by co-working abilities, which in turn emphasizes similar characteristics to workplace. Additionally, a machine learning project utilizes that ethical approach which increases the resilience and adaptability of students when the aptness of a model is incrementally improved as feedbacks and evaluation is being done. Students are put into the cycle by the provision of the constant experimentation, iteration and refinement that eventually leads to the shaping of their models, embracing a culture of consistent improvement.

Machine Learning projects for Students complete the cycle of learning by enabling students to master machine learning processes, opening new and exciting avenues for them to bring about transformations in ways AI can be utilized in our communities today. Takeoff Edu Group furnishes all kind of projects to learn and apply the fundamentals of machine learning in a fun and engaging way.

[technology-123s-blog]

Innovative Machine Learning Projects for Students

          Are you a student looking to learn and apply cutting-edge technology in your studies? Do you want to stand out in a competitive job market and develop in-demand skills? Our Innovative Machine Learning Projects for Students are designed to give you a deep understanding of the latest advancements in the field, and help you develop practical applications for real-world problems.

Latest Machine Learning Projects: -

Predicting the Fraud in Auto Insurance Claims         

Artificial Neural Networks Powered Cybersecurity Threatening Detection Assisted by Event Proxies

Medical Insurance Premium Prediction with Machine Learning      

Rumour Source Identification from Social Network  

Machine Learning in Planetary Defence Early Warning Systems for Hazardous Asteroids   

Stress Detection for IT Professionals Using Machine Learning         

Trending Machine Learning Projects: -

Movie Recommendation System Using Hybrid Filtering and Sentimental Ana...     

Efficient Hybrid Recommendation System for E-Commerce Users   

Stock Price Trend Forecasting Using Supervised Learning Methods 

Product Review Analysis for Rating Machine Learning         

Flower disease prediction using ML              

Fake News Detection Using Machine Learning         

Machine Learning Approach to Analyze the Road Accidents in India

Diabetes Prediction Using Data Science

Standard Machine Learning Projects: -

A Study on Dimensionality Reduction in PCA Algorithm       

Big Data, Predictive Analytics, and Machine Learning

Analysis and Prediction of Suicide Attempts 

Covid -19        

Resampling Techniques for Enhanced Network Slice Classification in 5G Networks A SMOTE-Tomek Perspective     

Solar Radiation Prediction by using ML         

Takeoff Edu Group's innovative Machine Learning Projects cover a wide range of topics, from computer vision and natural language processing to time series analysis and reinforcement learning. You will work with state-of-the-art tools and technologies, such as TensorFlow, Keras, and PyTorch, and learn how to implement algorithms for tasks such as image classification, sentiment analysis, and recommendation systems.

For More Information Visit: - https://takeoffprojects.com/innovative-machine-learning-projects

[bigleapblog]

Your Guide to B.Tech in Computer Science & Engineering Colleges

In today's technology-driven world, pursuing a B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) has become a popular choice among students aspiring for a bright future. The demand for skilled professionals in areas like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science, and Cloud Computing has made computer science engineering colleges crucial in shaping tomorrow's innovators. Saraswati College of Engineering (SCOE), a leader in engineering education, provides students with a perfect platform to build a successful career in this evolving field.

Whether you're passionate about coding, software development, or the latest advancements in AI, pursuing a B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering at SCOE can open doors to endless opportunities.

Why Choose B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering?

Choosing a B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering isn't just about learning to code; it's about mastering problem-solving, logical thinking, and the ability to work with cutting-edge technologies. The course offers a robust foundation that combines theoretical knowledge with practical skills, enabling students to excel in the tech industry.

At SCOE, the computer science engineering courses are designed to meet industry standards and keep up with the rapidly evolving tech landscape. With its AICTE Approved, NAAC Accredited With Grade-"A+" credentials, the college provides quality education in a nurturing environment. SCOE's curriculum goes beyond textbooks, focusing on hands-on learning through projects, labs, workshops, and internships. This approach ensures that students graduate not only with a degree but with the skills needed to thrive in their careers.

The Role of Computer Science Engineering Colleges in Career Development

The role of computer science engineering colleges like SCOE is not limited to classroom teaching. These institutions play a crucial role in shaping students' futures by providing the necessary infrastructure, faculty expertise, and placement opportunities. SCOE, established in 2004, is recognized as one of the top engineering colleges in Navi Mumbai. It boasts a strong placement record, with companies like Goldman Sachs, Cisco, and Microsoft offering lucrative job opportunities to its graduates.

The computer science engineering courses at SCOE are structured to provide a blend of technical and soft skills. From the basics of computer programming to advanced topics like Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, students at SCOE are trained to be industry-ready. The faculty at SCOE comprises experienced professionals who not only impart theoretical knowledge but also mentor students for real-world challenges.

Highlights of the B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering Program at SCOE

Comprehensive Curriculum: The B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering program at SCOE covers all major areas, including programming languages, algorithms, data structures, computer networks, operating systems, AI, and Machine Learning. This ensures that students receive a well-rounded education, preparing them for various roles in the tech industry.

Industry-Relevant Learning: SCOE’s focus is on creating professionals who can immediately contribute to the tech industry. The college regularly collaborates with industry leaders to update its curriculum, ensuring students learn the latest technologies and trends in computer science engineering.

State-of-the-Art Infrastructure: SCOE is equipped with modern laboratories, computer centers, and research facilities, providing students with the tools they need to gain practical experience. The institution’s infrastructure fosters innovation, helping students work on cutting-edge projects and ideas during their B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering.

Practical Exposure: One of the key benefits of studying at SCOE is the emphasis on practical learning. Students participate in hands-on projects, internships, and industry visits, giving them real-world exposure to how technology is applied in various sectors.

Placement Support: SCOE has a dedicated placement cell that works tirelessly to ensure students secure internships and job offers from top companies. The B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering program boasts a strong placement record, with top tech companies visiting the campus every year. The highest on-campus placement offer for the academic year 2022-23 was an impressive 22 LPA from Goldman Sachs, reflecting the college’s commitment to student success.

Personal Growth: Beyond academics, SCOE encourages students to participate in extracurricular activities, coding competitions, and tech fests. These activities enhance their learning experience, promote teamwork, and help students build a well-rounded personality that is essential in today’s competitive job market.

What Makes SCOE Stand Out?

With so many computer science engineering colleges to choose from, why should you consider SCOE for your B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering? Here are a few factors that make SCOE a top choice for students:

Experienced Faculty: SCOE prides itself on having a team of highly qualified and experienced faculty members. The faculty’s approach to teaching is both theoretical and practical, ensuring students are equipped to tackle real-world challenges.

Strong Industry Connections: The college maintains strong relationships with leading tech companies, ensuring that students have access to internship opportunities and campus recruitment drives. This gives SCOE graduates a competitive edge in the job market.

Holistic Development: SCOE believes in the holistic development of students. In addition to academic learning, the college offers opportunities for personal growth through various student clubs, sports activities, and cultural events.

Supportive Learning Environment: SCOE provides a nurturing environment where students can focus on their academic and personal growth. The campus is equipped with modern facilities, including spacious classrooms, labs, a library, and a recreation center.

Career Opportunities After B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering from SCOE

Graduates with a B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering from SCOE are well-prepared to take on various roles in the tech industry. Some of the most common career paths for CSE graduates include:

Software Engineer: Developing software applications, web development, and mobile app development are some of the key responsibilities of software engineers. This role requires strong programming skills and a deep understanding of software design.

Data Scientist: With the rise of big data, data scientists are in high demand. CSE graduates with knowledge of data science can work on data analysis, machine learning models, and predictive analytics.

AI Engineer: Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing various industries, and AI engineers are at the forefront of this change. SCOE’s curriculum includes AI and Machine Learning, preparing students for roles in this cutting-edge field.

System Administrator: Maintaining and managing computer systems and networks is a crucial role in any organization. CSE graduates can work as system administrators, ensuring the smooth functioning of IT infrastructure.

Cybersecurity Specialist: With the growing threat of cyberattacks, cybersecurity specialists are essential in protecting an organization’s digital assets. CSE graduates can pursue careers in cybersecurity, safeguarding sensitive information from hackers.

Conclusion: Why B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering at SCOE is the Right Choice

Choosing the right college is crucial for a successful career in B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering. Saraswati College of Engineering (SCOE) stands out as one of the best computer science engineering colleges in Navi Mumbai. With its industry-aligned curriculum, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and excellent placement record, SCOE offers students the perfect environment to build a successful career in computer science.

Whether you're interested in AI, data science, software development, or any other field in computer science, SCOE provides the knowledge, skills, and opportunities you need to succeed. With a strong focus on hands-on learning and personal growth, SCOE ensures that students graduate not only as engineers but as professionals ready to take on the challenges of the tech world.

If you're ready to embark on an exciting journey in the world of technology, consider pursuing your B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering at SCOE—a college where your future takes shape.

[lostconsultants]

Embracing AI-Driven Estimations for a Smarter Future

Embracing AI-driven estimations for a smarter future is no longer a distant vision—it is a necessary step in modern project management. In previous discussions, we explored the foundation of AI-driven estimations in Rethinking Estimations in the Age of AI and how AI is actively revolutionising estimation practices in Revolutionising Estimations with AI: Smarter, Faster, and More Reliable…

[intelisync]

Overcoming the 60% Struggle with ML Adoption: Key Insights

In the race to stay competitive, companies are turning to machine learning (ML) to unlock new levels of efficiency and innovation. But what does it take to successfully adopt ML?

Machine learning (ML) is a transformative technology offering personalized customer experiences, predictive analytics, operational efficiency, fraud detection, and enhanced decision-making. Despite its potential, many companies struggle with ML adoption due to data quality challenges, a lack of skilled talent, high costs, and resistance to change.

Effective ML implementation requires robust data management practices, investment in training, and a culture that embraces innovation. Intelisync provides comprehensive ML services, including strategy development, model building, deployment, and integration, helping companies overcome these hurdles and leverage ML for success.

Overcoming data quality and availability challenges is crucial for building effective ML models. Implementing robust data management practices, including data cleaning and governance, ensures consistency and accuracy, leading to reliable ML models and better decision-making. Addressing the talent gap through training programs and partnerships with experts like Intelisync can accelerate ML project implementation. Intelisync’s end-to-end ML solutions help businesses navigate the complexities of ML adoption, ensuring seamless integration with existing systems and maximizing efficiency. Fostering a culture of innovation and providing clear communication and leadership support are vital to overcoming resistance and promoting successful ML adoption.

Successful ML adoption involves careful planning, strategic execution, and continuous improvement. Companies must perform detailed cost-benefit analyses, start with manageable pilot projects, and regularly review and optimize their AI processes. Leadership support and clear communication are crucial to fostering a culture that values technological advancement. With Intelisync’s expert guidance, businesses can bridge the talent gap, ensure smooth integration, and unlock the full potential of machine learning for their growth and success. Transform your business with Intelisync’s comprehensive ML services and stay ahead in the competitive Learn more....

[cyber-soul-smartz]

21st Century Project Execution: Mastering the Critical Phase

Discover how modern project management techniques and innovative technologies can transform your projects! Dive into our latest article for expert insights and practical tips. Don't miss out—subscribe now to stay updated with cutting-edge strategies!

[d0nutzgg]

Heart Failure Bummer

I guess the dataset was not that great for heart failure mortality prediction. Unfortunately that means I am going to have to try and find some other project to do this week. I tried out 4 different models and a Multi-Layer Perceptron model, and there was just nothing there really. It got 74% max CVS so it is not viable for use in medical cases like that. However, it's back to the drawing board until I find something that will be beneficial to do as a project to help patients!

[avelera]

(Arcane Meta) Hextech, the Anomaly Future, and Jayce's Hammer

One cool thing about the second hammer Jayce gets from the Anomaly future is it appears to have the opposite power of the hammer from his home universe.

The hammer Jayce forged and that is from his home universe seems to engage the Hexgem inside in order to make it weightless.

This follows the principles of his first experiments with Hextech, which were weightlessness and transportation.

In the Atlas Gauntlets and in his hammer, you can see how Jayce applied those principles to weaponry and tools. They are based on his original inspiration from the Mage who saved him, who made him and his mother weightless, and then transported them to safety.

These specific uses of Hextech by Jayce show a really fascinating understanding of how you could use weightlessness as a tool and then re-engage the weight to apply its full force, as seen with transporting ships at high speeds using the Hexgates, with Vi's gauntlets and here, with his hammer:

In contrast, it looks like Hextech in the Anomaly future works on the opposite principle. Rather than Jayce conceiving of Hextech to make the item it's put into weightless, it kinda looks like the beam from his hammer firing makes other things weightless and that Hextech in general might have worked like that throughout that universe:

See how all the pieces of architecture are floating, in what might be my single favorite shot from the whole show.

The effect from Jayce's hammer in the other universe is also inverted:

Where after he shoots the pillar, the pieces of it continue to float after. (By the way, the architectural feats you could accomplish if you had the power to make things weightless like that would be staggering.)

Jayce's hammer also stopped working when he went to the other universe, implying that Hextech doesn't work the same way there for some reason, perhaps because Jayce and Viktor innovated on it along different principles, or perhaps because the entire polarity is inverted in that universe so Hextech magic can only project outward instead of inward.

The fact that his alternate universe hammer doesn't have the weightlessness power at all further creates strain for Jayce when he needs to fight with it. In addition to having less muscle mass in general because of his time in the cave, and a permanently damaged leg, Jayce can't engage this hammer's power to become weightless the way he could in the Shimmer Factory fight, so he has to drag it along and throw all his weight into swinging it around:

Because the design of that hammer is basically an anvil on a stick when you can't engage the weightlessness. It's very cool looking but it is not fast anymore.

And one more note to end on, but Jayce throughout the show tends to innovate uses for Hextech along the same lines of weightlessness and transportation, all based on the original spells he saw his Mage use. You can see those innovations, as mentioned, in the Hexgates, the Atlas Gauntlets, Caitlyn's rifle which use the Hexgate runes to speed up the bullet, and his hammer.

Viktor by contrast innovates on a different path entirely, with the Hexclaw which is a beam of light and doesn't rely on weightlessness or transportation, which makes it truly innovative compared to the original inspiration of the Mage (who is... also Viktor...). And of course, the Hexcore itself, the machine learning/AI version of Hextech that as noted in the show, doesn't rely on using runes as single application tools like Jayce, a toolmakers, does.

[narxcisse]

★ — The Line Between Us

Pairing: MH!Viktor x Jayce's partner!Reader

CW: infidelity, Viktor seems more obsessed than in love with reader, Jayce is kinda dumb

English isn't my native language

The cool, metallic tang of Zaun’s air clung to your lungs as you descended into the undercity. Every step felt heavier, your heart pounding with anticipation. You had told Jayce you were meeting a contact regarding a Hextech project, but here, beneath the gleaming spires of Piltover, that alibi felt hollow.

You weren’t here for progress. You weren’t here for Jayce.

You were here for him.

Viktor awaited you in his laboratory, surrounded by glowing machinery and the rhythmic hum of gears in motion. His mechanical frame caught the dim light, polished steel gleaming where flesh had long been forsaken. He looked up as you entered, his eyes locking onto yours, piercing through the guilt you carried.

“You’re late,” Viktor said, his voice calm but edged with an electric intensity that made your stomach twist. Today was one of those strange days where you saw him without his characteristic mask. (AN: Actually in my six years of playing LoL I never understood if it's his face or a mask, I would prefer it to be the second. 😭)

“I had to cover my tracks,” you murmured, stepping closer. “Jayce is… perceptive.”

“Jayce is a fool.” Viktor’s tone was sharp, almost dismissive. “He sees only what he wants to see. Progress is his blindfold.”

The words stung because they were true. Jayce, for all his brilliance, lived in a world of ideals. He didn’t notice how often you slipped away, didn’t question the late nights or the distant looks. He trusted you, and you were betraying him.

Viktor reached out with his augmented arm, the cold metal brushing against your skin. “And you? Do you share his blind optimism?”

You shook your head, your breath catching. “I’m not sure what I believe anymore.”

“Good,” Viktor said, stepping closer. “Doubt is the foundation of true innovation.”

Your lips met before you could think to stop yourself, the cold press of his against yours a stark contrast to the heat pooling in your chest. Viktor’s hands gripped your waist, pulling you closer. Every touch was calculated, precise, like he was dissecting you in the same way he dismantled machines. Yet there was an undeniable hunger, an almost desperate need in the way he held you.

“Do you think he suspects?” Viktor asked against your lips, his voice a mix of curiosity and possessiveness.

You hesitated. “I don’t know. But if he finds out…”

Viktor pulled back slightly, his eyes narrowing. “If he finds out, he will learn that perfection is inevitable—no matter the cost. You are no longer his. You are mine.”

The possessive claim sent a shiver down your spine. Was it love, or was it obsession? Did it matter?

“I don’t belong to anyone,” you whispered, though your words lacked conviction.

Viktor chuckled darkly. “Don’t you? You return to him out of guilt, but you come to me out of desire. Tell me, which is stronger?"

Your silence answered him.

---

The next morning, you stood beside Jayce in Piltover’s gleaming council chamber, his arm draped around your shoulders. He spoke animatedly about Hextech’s future, about the bright path forward. You smiled and nodded at the right moments, but your mind was miles away—in a shadowed lab in Zaun, where progress came at a price you weren’t sure you were willing to pay.

Jayce glanced at you, his warm smile full of trust. “You’ve been quiet. Everything okay?”

You forced a smile. “Just tired.”

He kissed your temple, his affection like a dagger in your heart. You wondered how much longer you could keep this up, how much longer you could walk the line between light and shadow.

But as Viktor had told you once, progress was inevitable. And so was the truth.

[frostyharbor]

A Wizarding World x Call of Duty crossover disclaimer: the usual "JK Rowling sucks" and "I don't condone military violence"

When you join the quiet little Office of Magitech Integration at the Ministry of Magic, you're granted a top secret security clearance. It doesn't become relevant until years later, when your boss surprises you with a shocking revelation and the real reason why you were hired:

To create magically modified Muggle weapons to combat the rising Dark Lord Makarov.

There's only one task force mad enough to test such abominations. Their captain strikes you as a bit insane. The two sergeants treat you like a sibling. And the one in the mask? Well, he doesn't really have much to do with you at all.

At least, not at first.

A little adventure, told through snippets and one shots, on mixing magic and modern warfare. Reading the intro for context is recommended, but most other parts should be standalone and can be read out of order. All parts, unless otherwise stated in the chapter, are rated T. tags: crossover au, canon-typical violence, fluff, slice of life, background plot, romance

PARTS

UNBURIED | FAMILIAR | MOBILE HOME | STATE OF MIND | STATE OF MIND II

↓ READ BELOW FOR THE INTRODUCTION ↓

“Welcome to the Office of Magitech Integration.”

“Nothing below an ‘Exceeds Expectations’ on your NEWTS. An Outstanding in Ancient Runes and Magical Theory.”

Bartholomew Thorne pauses, looking up at you over your credentials to give you an approving smile.

You smile back, aiming for cool and unaffected. Inside, your heart is racing. Please, please, please…

He taps another file on his desk. “Led the House E.L.F. project, too?” At your nod, he laughs. “Caused quite the stir at the ministry, that one.”

You remember. Your final two years at Hogwarts had been spent working with a development team on the House Enchanted Labor Familiar, House E.L.F. for short. After four semesters of hard work, a crude yet serviceable machine, equipped with the latest artificial intelligence and an arsenal of housekeeping charms, had been presented to the Ministry. 

Magical Ethics had shaken their heads gravely over the little bot. The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures had immediately submitted a flurry of complaints, stating this overreach in magitech would replace “willing elf labor”. 

Your only support had come from the House Elf Rights Advocates, who had enthusiastically applauded the innovation. But they occupied a corner of the Ministry even smaller than the one you currently sat in, and in the end it hadn’t amounted to much.

Back in the present, Thorne hovers only a brief moment longer over your paperwork before setting it neatly aside.

Folding his hands on the desk, he looks at you directly. “Now, why do you want to join this office?”

It’s a question you’re ready for. “Because I believe that the Muggle world has a lot to offer us, sir.” It’s a dangerous phrase you wouldn’t even think to utter anywhere else in the Ministry. “The Ministry still uses paper airplane memos to send information between departments; Muggles can do it in a second over email.”

You hesitate, and Thorne waves you on with a careless gesture. “We still use quills and parchment–they use pens and paper. If we need information, we have to go to a library—they have everything you could ever possibly need to know stored digitally, where anyone can access it at any time.” You catch your breath. “There is so much that we could do better—faster—if we’re given the chance to develop it.”

“It’s an uphill battle,” he warns gravely. “There’s too much old blood still in the ministry to accept hybrid products.”

“I understand.”

“And what do you bring to the table?”

“I’m smart.” You lift your chin. “I’m smart, I know what I’m doing, and the E.L.F. project gave me the experience to learn what works and what doesn’t. It taught me how to work on a team, too. And,” you force a little extra steel in your voice, letting it harden your tone. “I’m not afraid of a little challenge.”

Thorne’s eyes gleam. He stands and, a little shaky after your declaration, you stand too. 

“Well, then.” He offers his hand out to you and you take it. A flicker of electricity runs up your fingers and into your arm, like an oath seeping into the skin.

“Welcome to the Office of Magitech Integration.”

For an office you had assumed was generally ignored by the Ministry, the OMI is shockingly opulent.

You had been expecting basement-level offices, dim halls, and cramped workspaces. Instead, you walk into a bright and spacious atrium, the glass ceiling charmed to show a sunny blue sky. It’s so masterfully done that you can feel the warmth of the artificial sunlight on your back as you approach the front desk.

The receptionist looks up at you kindly, greeting you by name.

“That’s me,” you confirm, a little surprised. “How did you know?”

“I’ve got your badge here somewhere—it’s got your picture on it. Just a minute.” He shuffles through the stacks of paperwork on his desk. As he looks, more memos materialize in his inbox tray, which chimes a pleasant little melody at the new additions.

“What is that?” You ask, leaning over the desk for a closer look.

“Oh, those? Our Instant Inboxes.” He yanks the new paperwork out of the tray. “Whenever the boss wants to give us something, he just writes our name on it, slides it into his outbox, and—poof!” He laughs a bit sourly. “Now it’s on my desk.”

Now that you think of it, you hadn’t seen one flying piece of paper since you had walked into the office. That old dog, you think. He let me ramble about the Ministry memos and didn’t even mention this once.

“Here we are!” The man exclaims, fishing out your badge from between two files. He dangles it out to you by the lanyard, and you slide it over your head. “Now, Thorne wants you in Experimental Prototyping, but we’re still waiting on a few things to clear with your security clearance. Until then, you’ll be shadowing an officer on the Ethics and Oversight Council.” He laughs when you can’t disguise your grimace fast enough. “I know, boring old lot, aren’t they? But it’s good to learn sometimes what you can’t do before you learn what you can.”

“And,” he gives you a conspiratorial wink, “the atrium’s just for the stuffy officials. The real office is down that hall. I hope you weren’t hoping for peace and quiet.”

“No, sir.”

He waves you on with another laugh.

You walk away, your new badge suddenly heavy around your neck. The blow of being shuffled into Ethics of all places momentarily overshadows all else. You had been itching to get your hands on some tech, to strip it down and put it back together better.

Everyone starts somewhere, you remind yourself. Patience.

It isn’t until you’re halfway down the hall, headed for the door marked EOC, that the other details catch up to you.

Hang on…security clearance?

Much to your surprise, the EOC is much more lenient than the Department of Magical Ethics.

“They’re the real duffers,” one of them grumbles to you over morning tea, a few weeks into your assignment. “We know how to bend the rules a bit.”

You suppose they have to. Even though you’re not working firsthand on any projects, the ones that cross your desk for review are outrageous in nature.

On one memorable occasion, a handler wearing thick dragonhide gloves had brought in a mystery object swaddled in magic-suppressing blankets.

“You’re joking,” you say flatly when the blanket is opened to reveal a keyboard, of all things.

“I wish,” the senior officer says gravely. “It was supposed to motivate the user to work on their projects, but made them obsessed instead. The tester hasn’t slept in three days and had to be pried away.”

She flips the keyboard over, indicating the obvious runes etched into the back. You recognize Dagaz and Inguz. Completion. Goals. Strangely, there’s still a battery compartment.

You point it out. “Funny that they’d leave that if it runs off of magic.”

Together, you open the compartment and shake out the batteries onto the desk. They’re not a brand you recognize.

“Careful!” The senior barks when you automatically reach for one. You pull back your hand, but not before a fingertip brushes the side of one battery. You’re immediately seized with the urge to do something, anything, just as long as you’re doing it—

She performs a diagnostic spell with a graceful arc of her wand, hissing as red sparks fly over the table. “That’s why we didn’t catch it the first time—they snuck the charms in through the bloody batteries, not the keyboard!”

You get a front row seat to the row that ensues between Ethics and Prototyping, fighting the urge to make yourself small when some of the developers’ eyes find you standing behind the senior ethics officer. I’m on your side, you want to say, but at the same time, you understand the EOC’s reasoning.

“Promise me you won’t cut corners, kid,” your mentor seethes when you walk back to her office. “In this line of work, shortcuts get people killed.”

It’s a promise you try to adhere to in the following years.

You officially enter Experimental Prototyping and Development after two months spent shadowing the EOC. 

After the time spent among filing cabinets and old rule books—if you never saw a copy of the Ministry Rules of Experimental Procedures again, you’d die happy—the labs are a breath of fresh air. Fresh being relative; it’s mainly oil, ozone, and a whiff of gunpowder.

If the EOC is willing to bend some rules, the EPD is willing to completely bulldoze them.

“Don’t you worry about those old bags,” one of your new coworkers advises you after you hesitate over the latest project—a Muggle photocopier with the capacity to copy even magical moving pictures. You’re impressed until you notice the flaw—every individual in the picture can walk out of their frame and into the frame of another.

It’s a level of magic you were familiar with from the portraits at Hogwarts, but you didn’t think that it extended to the average photograph.

The original photo had been of an old couple waving, but now, ten copies of the man occupy one frame while ten copies of the woman occupy another. The remaining eight photographs stand empty. 

As you study the picture, one of the men makes eye contact with you and taps on the front of the picture, where glass would be if it were framed. He squints his eyes, leans forward, and breathes in front of him; a tiny cloud of fog appears on the photo. With one tiny finger, he writes two words: SU PLEH.

HELP US.

Blood running cold, you slam the photo facedown on the table.

Your coworker doesn’t even look up. “Gotta push the limits somewhere, or else you get nowhere, right?”

It’s your first real brush with the darker side of development. An eerie, lingering reminder that magic—and its users—doesn’t always play by the rules. But it isn't the last. In fact, it’s nothing compared to what comes later.

Years after the photocopier, when the true reason for your security clearance finally reveals itself, you’ll look back on this moment and think: That was only the beginning.

You’re tinkering with a laptop when a tap on the door breaks your focus.

It’s Thorne. There are a few more wrinkles around his eyes and mouth, and his hair has begun to go gray at the roots, but he more or less looks like the same man that had hired you four years ago.

If it had been anyone else, you'd have dismissed them. But Thorne’s not just your boss—he’s a mentor and a friend. And he wouldn’t interrupt without good reason.

Setting the laptop aside, you wave him in. With a flick of your wand, the pile of blueprints and design schematics cluttering up your extra desk chair banish themselves to a box in the corner of the room. 

He sits, and you follow. He’s not looking at you; he’s eyeing the innards of the laptop currently strewn across your desk. 

When he makes no move to speak, you clear your throat awkwardly.

“How can I help you, sir?”

He glances up sharply as though startled, drumming his fingers on the arm of the chair. 

For a moment, he still doesn’t speak. 

Then: “What do you know about this new Dark Lord?”

It’s a conversation-starter so far out of left field that it hits you like a brick. After gathering your wits, you scramble for some sort of coherent answer. “Er, I…I guess what the Prophet’s been reporting, sir.”

And the Prophet had been reporting very little.

Vladimir Makarov had been a name whispered in the halls of Hogwarts from your sixth year onwards. By the time you graduated, professors had adopted a permanently pinched, worried look. Professor Longbottom, if you recall correctly, had been especially stricken, and was absent from the school more often than not.

Makarov, a young Russian upstart, had been weaving in and out of the shadows since, making headlines one year and becoming virtually invisible for the next two. What baffled the Ministry, according to the Prophet, was that he and his followers didn’t appear to have any sort of manifesto. No cause.

Just chaos.

Thorne smiles grimly. “I’ll get straight to the point. Makarov is a dark wizard, yes. A powerful one. But he’s been working with Muggle fringe groups to extend his reach in their world as well.” He holds up a hand as you open your mouth. “Wait a moment. It gets worse. He’s been working with PMCs—Private Military Companies,” he clarifies, seeing your expression. “These groups are wreaking absolute havoc in the Muggle world.”

After a long pause, he saves the worst blow for last. “We suspect that they have been provided with magically-modified Muggle weaponry.”

The statement hangs in the air between you. Sentient photocopies, manic keyboards…every mishap from over the years pales in comparison.

“The Ministries—ours and the Muggle one—have worked together in the past during times of war. Top secret initiatives, of course. In the years of Grindelwald and Hitler, there were specially-designated hit squads from the DMLE that aided Muggle military operations in undermining the Nazi regime."

You follow the conversation only barely, sitting open-mouthed as Thorne continues.

"During the Muggle Cold War, we had our own spies stationed in the Soviet Union and throughout the Eastern Bloc. They helped the Americans and other NATO-aligned states gather intelligence.”

The implications set your mind in a spiral. “You’re talking about a massive violation of the Statute of Secrecy,” you say slowly. “How on earth did the Minister ever agree to it?”

“Because the right people in the right places recognized that these were conflicts that would affect the entire world, ours included. This wasn’t some petty spat between nations—this was nuclear war, kid.”

Nuclear. The word stabs into your brain like an ice pick. You have vague recollections of learning about it in primary school, remember seeing snatches of it on television (something something weapons of mass destruction), but your time in the Wizarding World has dulled your knowledge on Muggle warfare.

While you’re still thinking, Thorne moves on. “What I’m trying to say is, throughout history, there have been times when Magical Law Enforcement has worked together with the British Muggle army. And it’s looking like that time is coming around again.”

You have a creeping suspicion of what Thorne is getting at. It would violate every ethical rule in the book, but he’s got that hard look in his eye that tells you he’s not really asking. “And what does this have to do with the OMI?”

“If Makarov’s giving his Muggle followers modified weaponry, the Muggle Prime Minister wants his soldiers outfitted with the same.”

The laptop parts on your desk vibrate; a slip of accidental magic on your part. Scooting yourself away from the desk, you take a deep breath and try to control yourself. 

Thorne looks sympathetic but unyielding. “The Prime Minister says that soldiers are being shot to pieces in Kosovo. Some of them young men and women, just in their twenties—”

“Don’t manipulate me!” You interrupt sharply, and the laptop parts give a little jump. “I can read the implications for myself! It doesn’t change the fact that you’re suggesting we experiment in some of the most illegal branches of magic!”

Replacing flying memos with the Instant Inboxes? Harmless. Accidentally turning photographs sentient after putting them through a magical copier? A bit more worrisome, but fixable. 

But modifying a weapon has no other use besides war. Anything you create isn’t going to be used in an office, or to make someone’s life easier at home. It’s going to be used to kill.

“We’re not being asked to go out and kill enemies ourselves. Just…to level the playing field, is all.”

“Is that all?” you snip back, crossing your arms and looking away. You both know better. Just leveling the playing field is the first domino in a long line of consequences. Tip it over and who knows what will happen.

“This is why I hired you.”

The quiet admission makes you look back at your boss, eyes wide. “What?”

“Why I hired you. Why I gave you your security clearance. We always have to be on the lookout for new blood when facing situations like this.” His gaze is direct, unflinching. “You weren’t afraid to push boundaries and said you were willing to face challenges.”

“Challenges aren’t the same as war crimes, sir.”

“In this environment, we can’t always afford to split hairs. If it helps us beat Makarov and protect both the Muggle world and ours, would it be worth it?”

Would it? You think of what he described—poor Muggle soldiers torn to pieces after being ambushed with superior weaponry they couldn’t hope to match on their own. A world in the shadow of a new Dark Lord.

But you think, too, of the little man in the picture. Help us. The unintended consequences of innovation and experimentation. That had been a photo. These new projects would be weapons. Who could say where this path would lead?

Thorne looks at you expectantly, head tilted to the side as he waits for an answer. 

This is why I hired you.

Taking a moment to exhale in through your nose, you let the breath out after holding it for a few seconds. “Alright. Fine.” 

Thorne looks pleased, but you have to resist the urge to bury your face in your hands. “Where do we even start?”

“The beginning is usually the best place,” he says pleasantly, pulling a file out of thin air. He prepared for this, you realize, a bit sour. He knew you would say yes.

The file is slid across your desk, and you open it with no small amount of trepidation. The paperwork that greets you is vastly underwhelming—it’s barely a few pages, most of it redacted.

“Am I supposed to do something with this?”

“They’re a Muggle task force so classified that most of their own government doesn’t even know about them. Get used to the secrecy.” 

Thorne leans in and flips through the pages until he reaches the one he wants, an agreement to the testing of magically-enhanced weapons with four signatures at the bottom. “This is what matters to us. They’ve agreed to be the first soldiers to test whatever we put out for them. We’ll be working with them directly to find what their needs are.”

“And when this is all finished?” You squint at the signatures, trying to make out a name among the loopy scrawls. You see two Johns, and maybe a Kyle. The final name is unrecognizable. “What’s to stop them from using them against us?”

“Can you use magic or not?” Thorne smirks. “You figure it out.”

author notes: got the random idea of Ghost tinkering with a sentient rifle and this was born. It will be updated every Sunday morning. Some parts may be standalone, others may not, and all will likely be less than 1K words.

thanks for reading!

[waitmyturtles]

Turtles Catches Up With Old GMMTV: KinnPorsche, and Analyzing the KP Cultural Zeitgeist Edition (Part 1)

[What’s going on here? After joining Tumblr and discovering Thai BLs through KinnPorsche in 2022, I began watching GMMTV’s new offerings -- and realized that I had a lot of history to catch up on, to appreciate the more recent works that I was delving into. From tropes to BL frameworks, what we’re watching now hails from somewhere, and I’m learning about Thai BL's history through what I’m calling the Old GMMTV Challenge (OGMMTVC). Starting with recommendations from @absolutebl on their post regarding how GMMTV is correcting for its mistakes with its shows today, I’ve made an expansive list to get me through a condensed history of essential/classic/significant Thai BLs produced by GMMTV and many other BL studios. My watchlist, pasted below, lists what I’ve watched and what’s upcoming, along with the reviews I’ve written so far. Today, in a two-part series, I offer my thoughts on KinnPorsche, my very first Thai BL, and the impact that I think KP has had on the Thai BL industry since 2022.]

Hot damn! It has been a MINUTE since my last OGMMTVC review, so I'm glad to be back. I've been very much looking forward to writing my thoughts about my recent KinnPorsche rewatch: I enjoyed this ENTIRE process, especially in regards to watching KinnPorsche in the context and chronology of past Thai BLs, and man, did I ever see KP WAYYYYY differently than the first time I watched it.

Why's that? Welp -- *KinnPorsche was my first-ever Thai BL*. (Not my first BL drama ever; that award goes to the GOAT, Kinou Nani Tabeta?/What Did You Eat Yesterday?)

But when I joined Tumblr officially in July 2022, just about a year and a half ago (in the heat of passionately obsessing over Old Fashion Cupcake), my dash was awash, AWASH, in KP posts. AWASH.

I had no idea what the fuck the algorithm was telling me.

I went into KinnPorsche knowing absolutely NOTHING about Thai BL tropes, the history of the genre, the actors in the roles, what made KP so innovative by way of its storyline, NADA. Dudes -- I'm half-Malaysian, and I had never even watched a show from the Southeast Asian region, let alone Thailand, and I was unaware of how prolific the Thai drama industry was (at least compared to the Korean drama machine).

When I first watched KinnPorsche, my perspective was that I had watched a pretty good show, and I was left surprised back then in particular by the No Homophobia Bubble (well, almost no homophobia, Big) that I now know is so much more common in Thai BLs than I realized.

It was through KinnPorsche that I discovered Thai BLs, and it was subsequently through Bad Buddy that I realized that I NEEDED to understand the development of this national genre -- so back to the history annals I went, through my OGMMTVC project, starting from 2014's Love Sick, and here we are at this moment of the timeline, the hot hot late spring and summer of 2022, enjoying the ✨vibbbeeezz✨ between Mile Phakphum and Apo Nattawin, and leaving me wondering why there was a national shirt button shortage in the midst of a Thai mafia crime drama. I'm glad I have history on my side now as I think about KinnPorsche as a standalone drama, and as I also think about the impact it has had on the Thai BL genre and fandoms prior to its premiere, up to today's moment in time.

I took my time to draft this piece partly because I was busy watching Be On Cloud's second and latest serial drama in Dead Friend Forever. I think BOC is doing something very interesting by way of their acting and contracted scripting choices, which I want to ponder by way of the context and aftermath of KP's airing. As such, while I had intended to write just one post about KP, I have a bunch of thoughts that'll spill over to tomorrow. So here we go, a quick overall outline for the lovers for today and tomorrow on my ruminating thoughts:

1) My critical thoughts on KinnPorsche as a standalone drama in the context of the history of previous Thai BLs, 2) My thoughts on how new arrivals to the wider Thai BL fandom shaped the perception of KP vis à vis older Thai BLs, 3) How I think KP has impacted how other studios approach, market, and write Thai BLs now, and 4) A quick passing thought on BOC's own continued influence on the Thai BL genre and industry since 2022, particularly by way of Dead Friend Forever.

I'm going to concentrate on numbers 1 and 2 in this piece, and they're actually going to be a touch conflated, because I want to lean into a now-obvious fact that the BL Elder community knew all along about KP when it first aired in 2022: there was not much that was new about what KinnPorsche was doing. (This is not necessarily a bad thing, as I’ll get into below.)

When I was a newbie on Tumblr, and the algorithm was feeding my dash, I remember seeing posts about how Be On Cloud, the studio behind KP, was doing things differently than the rest of the Thai BL field -- I recall posts about the studio hiring the best acting coaches, how the cinematography was nothing like what we had seen in other shows, and how Be On Cloud was committed to creating safe environments for its actors, particularly Apo Nattawin, who had reportedly faced discrimination in his past acting career, reportedly leading him to leave the Thai drama industry for a number of years.

While some very early Thai BL studios were known to not have the safest or friendliest environments (the filming of What The Duck comes to mind by way of this lore), by the time of KP's airing, GMMTV had strongly established itself as the leader of Thai BL productions, and other players, including New Siwaj and Cheewin Thanamin, had produced quite the number of dramas under each of their respective studio outfits. The industry, by 2020 and 2021, when KP was in its development origins, wasn't new anymore. Acting coaches, such as Aof Noppharnach, were now also regularly writing, directing, and producing original shows, and major BL studios had introduced workshopping as a regular step to production. On the artistic end, studios and writers had established expected artistic tropes -- 2018's Love By Chance is the first example that comes to my mind of when the Thai BL genre crystallized in a structurally derivative piece of art by way of containing and using prior trope references and dynamics.

Be On Cloud, in picking up the KinnPorsche script from Filmania during the pandemic (I use these posts here and here for my non-primary sources of KP lore) clearly knew it had something innovative on its hands by way of producing the genre's first mafia-based BL romance.

But 2020's Manner of Death had already introduced crime and mystery to BL, and 2021's Not Me continued a multi-genre perspective somewhat successfully around romance. And regarding sex and heat: KinnPorsche didn't do that first, either. MaxTul brought it first in 2017's Together With Me, and MAME has owned this corner since 2018's Love By Chance and 2019's TharnType. (Props to MaxTul for being in both Together With Me and Manner of Death; MileApo owe those dudes some beers.) By way of cinematography, which KP does extremely well: we had already begun seeing prestige cinematography in 2020's I Told Sunset About You, and 2021's I Promised You The Moon and A Tale of Thousand Stars.

It was natural, I think, for much of the KP fandom to think that KP was innovative in a lot of these categories, because, like me -- KP was our first-ever Thai BL. By way of money clearly spent on the show, the directorial purview of the show, the utterly gorgeous cinematography (man, that nighttime pull-away shot when the guys are in the roof pool, oof, why couldn't I find a gif), a new fan might think, geez, this has never been done before! But it had, and not just in Thailand, but for years prior in Japan, and more recently in Korea.

This is ALL not to say that KinnPorsche “suffered” because of what I'm uncovering by way of KP's misunderstood innovation. I think a perception of KP being entirely “new” in the BL field has contributed to its lore and enduring influential status. On this rewatch, I appreciated the mafia-based storyline as a support system to the central KinnPorsche romance. Yok being centered as an important mentor to Porsche, played by the inimitable Sprite Patteerat, was refreshing to see. Porsche accepting his bisexuality, especially with Yok's support, without the typical BL head-spinning queer revelation, was a welcome element to the show. And, frankly -- I had, on my first watch, missed, of course, the clear references to Thai BLs of the past in this show, references that I really loved seeing this time around.

From the old school, we got Kob Songsit, the OG BL dad, no longer Tong's dad in the seminal movie, The Love of Siam, nor Dean's dad in Until We Meet Again. This BL veteran is now a damn dad don, weapons and all.

We've also got Na Naphat, who played important side characters in IPYTM and UWMA. We have former BL lead guys in Jeff Satur and Perth Nakhun. We've got guitars and singing, we have underwater smooching, we have a cute-cute first date. We arguably have questionable kabedon in Kinn's and Porsche's first intimate moments. We have cooking for your lover, we have feeding your lover, we have the towel-drying of the hair. KP, by 2022, keeps up with Idol Factory's Secret Crush On You in prominently featuring a femme-presenting side character in Tankhun, PHENOMENALLY ACTED by Tong Thanayut, who we had seen previously in TharnType.

KP was, in part, directed by Pepzi Banchorn, who served as an assistant director on 2019's Dark Blue Kiss and 2021-22's Bad Buddy, and had a quick guest spot in 2022's The Warp Effect. KP was also, in part, directed by Khom Kongkiat, who played Uncle Tong in Bad Buddy, and subsequently directed The Promise in 2023. AND, finally, one of the KP screenwriters is Bee Pongsate, who has co-written so much flippin' BL: Last Twilight, Bad Buddy, Dangerous Romance (😬), Vice Versa, My School President, A Tale of Thousand Stars, 2gether and Still 2gether, and that's not even scratching the list -- you get it.

KP's supporting cast and crew was simply stacked with BL vets, who clearly knew the scene, and who helped to support Mile Phakphum's rookie acting and Apo Nattawin's return to the screen. I'd posit that this group of people knew EXACTLY what references they were putting into KinnPorsche, from actors to tropes, and also knew when, where, and how to innovate around those references to still make this show unique.

Certainly, KP's approach to sex and heat -- by way of Kinn's and Porsche's first drunken encounters (hi again, MaxTul), the uncut intimate scenes between them, and Vegas's and Pete's union by way of, well, semi-torture and/or kink -- was bold enough to be overall quite notable. But again: Thai BLs had been pushing that envelope for years past, and it has continued to do so in shows like MAME's Love In the Air and GMMTV's Only Friends.

In other words: after this rewatch, with the history of the older Thai BLs I've watched under my belt, I don't see KinnPorsche as firstly innovative. But I appreciate the show differently now, in particular for how very obvious it worked to include past Thai BL references in its production, and I actually gained a different appreciation for it.

I also want to made a quick tangential note about Apo and Tong specifically by way of innovation. Dr. Thomas Baudinette, a long-time BL fan and academic researcher on Thai and Japanese queer media, notes in his book, Boys Love Media in Thailand, that an ideal trajectory for a Thai BL actor is to debut in BLs in order to transition to more popular primetime het Thai dramas, as Gulf Kanuwat of TharnType, and Ohm Thitiwat and Kao Noppakao of UWMA and Lovely Writer, respectively, are notably doing at the moment. Apo Nattawin did this the other way around: he had established his career in het lakorns, most notably in 2015’s major hit drama, Sut Khaen Saen Rak, and subsequently left the Thai drama industry after reportedly being discriminated against for his skin tone and fashion choices. And his way back to the industry was through BLs. Taking the lore of Mile Phakphum recruiting Apo for KP out of the picture for a moment: I think this indicates a shift in how BLs are increasingly perceived in Thailand, and even globally, as being a career-worthy genre of content on its own for actors. (Apo's exploding fashion career is proof of this.) And BOC has now recruited another lakorn vet in Jes Jespipat for its third upcoming drama, 4 Minutes.

As well, Tong Thanayut’s very public coming out after the conclusion of KP’s airing is notable for how Be On Cloud has continued to center Tong in its productions after that fact, most notably in 2023’s film, Man Suang, while other out BL actors are not as lucky by way of guaranteeing and attracting future work.

I have a lot more to say about KinnPorsche's and Be On Cloud's impact on the current Thai BL industry, and how I think that impact has affected the marketing and creation of more recent shows like 2023's Only Friends, and 2023-24's Playboyy. But this first post has gotten long, and I actually haven't written much about the actual show itself, HA. So let me say this:

I think it's notable that the first shows that played around with themes outside of romance, like 2020's Manner of Death, and 2021's Not Me, were not perfect shows. We see now how multi-genre BLs are just exploding, what with Dead Friend Forever and the upcoming slew of vampire BLs that are going to drop (and let's not forget the first omegaverse BL drama in Pit Babe -- or should we forget it, I dunno). Not all of these shows are perfect, but the genre has only been around for a decade. There's a lot of time, and a tremendous amount of interest and funding, that upcoming shows can leverage to become better, especially these multi-genre shows that we're seeing more of.

KinnPorsche as well, was not a perfect show. I have some thoughts particularly on VegasPete to offer tomorrow, and I think, overall, that KP could have easily been a shorter series with more impact.

But I'll still give the show some of its flowers, because I think, unlike MoD and Not Me, that KinnPorsche did a better job of centering the Kinn and Porsche romance for dramatic effect, particularly by leveraging comedy. Were there many moments of hibbly-jibblies? Oh, totally. Dudes, also, Kinn fucking forgot about Pete! Pete coming back to the house and reminiscing about Vegas while holding his neck? Eeeeyikes, no thanx. There were a number of these weird bumps that I think could be explained by way of intentional camp (which I think KP did pretty well), but I do believe the show could have been tighter with more editing.

But, I gotta admit: I had a great time re-watching KP. That says something. Was it the heat that tiddled my dopamine cycles? Probably, somewhat. (No shame in my game.) Or -- a more reasonable theory, ha, is that Apo, as a veteran actor, demonstrated more range than I originally remembered. He can really do comedy well, and he timed his comedy perfectly for the absurdities that peppered KP through the series (the bread crawl, the constant throwing of hands, the jumping-on-Kinn when the ghost of Pete showed up, oh shit we're in the forest now, etc). Apo and Tong, in particular, stayed true to the bit many times during the show, and I think the series benefitted greatly from their collective comedic talent and timing -- which I thought was nicely refreshing for the genre.

With that, I'll have more ruminating tomorrow about the show itself, about how I think the impact that KP and BOC have had on the genre after KP's airing, and other thoughts about the cultural moment that KP demarcated when it aired -- see you tomorrow!

[MORE MORE MORE KP tomorrow! And I'll have more thoughts about the watchlist then. But for now, here's the classic OGMMTVC list for you to chew on!

1) The Love of Siam (2007) (movie) (review here) 2) My Bromance (2014) (movie) (review here) 3) Love Sick and Love Sick 2 (2014 and 2015) (review here) 4) Gay OK Bangkok Season 1 (2016) (a non-BL queer series directed by Jojo Tichakorn and written by Aof Noppharnach) (review here) 5) Make It Right (2016) (review here) 6) SOTUS (2016-2017) (review here) 7) Gay OK Bangkok Season 2 (2017) (a non-BL queer series directed by Jojo Tichakorn and written by Aof Noppharnach) (review here) 8) Make It Right 2 (2017) (review here) 9) Together With Me (2017) (review here) 10) SOTUS S/Our Skyy x SOTUS (2017-2018) (review here) 11) Love By Chance (2018) (review here) 12) Kiss Me Again: PeteKao cuts (2018) (no review) 13) He’s Coming To Me (2019) (review here) 14) Dark Blue Kiss (2019) and Our Skyy x Kiss Me Again (2018) (review here) 15) TharnType (2019-2020) (review here) 16) Senior Secret Love: Puppy Honey (OffGun BL cuts) (2016 and 2017) (no review) 17) Theory of Love (2019) (review here) 18) 3 Will Be Free (2019) (a non-BL and an important harbinger of things to come in 2019 and beyond re: Jojo Tichakorn pushing queer content in non-BLs) (review here) 19) Dew the Movie (2019) (review here) 20) Until We Meet Again (2019-2020) (review here) (and notes on my UWMA rewatch here) 21) 2gether (2020) and Still 2gether (2020) (review here) 22) I Told Sunset About You (2020) (review here) 23) YYY (2020, out of chronological order) (review here) 24) Manner of Death (2020-2021) (review here) 25) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) (review here) 26) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For The Sake Of Rewatching Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS (re-review here) 27) Lovely Writer (2021) (review here) 28) Last Twilight in Phuket (2021) (the mini-special before IPYTM) (review here) 29) I Promised You the Moon (2021) (review here) 30) Not Me (2021-2022) (review here) 31) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) (thesis here) 32) 55:15 Never Too Late (2021-2022) (not a BL, but a GMMTV drama that features a macro BL storyline about shipper culture and the BL industry) (review here) 33) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) and Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS (2023) OGMMTVC Rewatch (Links to the BBS OGMMTVC Meta Series are here: preamble here, part 1, part 2, part 3a, part 3b, and part 4) 34) Secret Crush On You (2022) (review here) 35) KinnPorsche (2022) (tag here)  36) KinnPorsche (2022) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For the Sake of Re-Analyzing the KP Cultural Zeitgeist

...interrupting the OGMMTVC list here to watch War of Y (2022) (watching) in chronology to decide if it gets listed...

37) The Eclipse (2022) (tag here) 38) The Eclipse OGMMTVC Rewatch to Reexamine “Genre BLs” and Internalized/Externalized Homophobia in GMMTV Shows  39) GAP (2022-2023) (Thailand’s first GL) 40) My School President (2022-2023) and Our Skyy 2 x My School President (2023) 41) Moonlight Chicken (2023) (tag here) 42) Bed Friend (2023) (tag here) 43 La Pluie (2023) (review coming) 44) Be My Favorite (2023) (tag here) (I’m including this for BMF’s sophisticated commentary on Krist’s career past as a BL icon) 45) Wedding Plan (2023) (Recommended as an important trajectory in the course of MAME’s work and influence from TharnType) 46) Only Friends (2023) (tag here) (not technically a BL, but it certainly became one in the end) 47) Last Twilight (2023-24) (tag here) (on the list as Thailand’s first major BL to center disability, successfully or otherwise) 48) Cherry Magic Thailand (2023-24) (tag here) (on the list as the first major Japanese-to-Thai drama adaptation, featuring the comeback of TayNew) 49) Ossan’s Love Returns (2024) (adding for the EarthMix cameo and the eventual Thai remake) 50) Dead Friend Forever (2024) (thoughts here) 51) 23.5 (tag here) (2024)]

[moonogre]

Snippet 3

Business | Technology 

KaibaCorp Dreams of Another World

May 28 

“It’s not a question of what’s next. It’s what’s happening right now. Right in front of you.”

These are the words from the seventeen-year old visionary Seto Kaiba, known worldwide as the reigning Duel Monsters champion and CEO of KaibaCorp (TSE:KBA). His advice seems perfect for this moment: he is standing right in front of a gigantic dragon. It is screaming and ready to attack and he is fearless. 

The creature in question is one of three in the world that belong to the young CEO: Blue Eyes White Dragon, a rare Duel Monsters card and the star of KaibaCorp’s impromptu demonstration of its latest project: Scheherazade.

Named after the fabled storyteller of “One Thousand and One Nights,” Scheherazade is as much a technological marvel as it is a philosophical leap forward. The platform creates immersive worlds drawn from both written stories and players’ own memories, merging fiction and reality into a seamless experience. A combination of machine learning, memory recall, and advanced simulation technology allows the system to respond and adapt for real-time, constant immersion. While virtual reality has been evolving steadily over the past decade, Scheherazade’s memory integration takes it to another level, with unprecedented possibilities for storytelling, education, and, of course, gaming. 

Its most immediate application will be for duelists, offering fully interactive Duel Monsters matches in an arena where the creatures seem to step out of the cards and into life. Industry insiders speculate that this move could put KaibaCorp at the forefront of both gaming and virtual reality, potentially outpacing rivals like Industrial Illusions (NYSE:ILL) and Meta (NASDAQ: META).

This is the latest in the bold new direction forged under young Kaiba’s leadership, which transformed KaibaCorp from an arms contractor to a tech powerhouse, pioneering innovations at the intersection of telecommunications, augmented reality and entertainment. KaibaCorp’s origins date back to the post-World War II era when it rose to prominence as a leading arms manufacturer, standing just behind global defence giants like Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and Northrop Grumman Corp (NYSE: NOC). The company’s previous success in the defence sector is often credited to the founding family’s deeply personal experience with war: Ryu Kaiba, KaibaCorp’s founder, served in Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour. The war also impacted his son, the late Gozaburo Kaiba, who was one of the 650,000 survivors of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. 

The latter half of the twentieth-century saw KaibaCorp as a bastion of military technology, supplying weapons to governments around the world. Yet the company was perpetually mired in controversy, and a frequent target of political outcry for its contributions to war and conflict. Protests frequently accompanied its business dealings, which placed it at the centre of public debate about the ethics of arms dealership. It is speculated that mounting pressure and dwindling public support factored into the shocking suicide of Gozaburo Kaiba, who jumped to his death from the KaibaCorp headquarters during a meeting with the company’s board of directors. 

This tragedy would make it the third time Seto Kaiba had lost a parent. Gozaburo Kaiba adopted both the current KaibaCorp CEO and his younger brother, KaibaCorp’s Senior Manager of Technology Operations, Mokuba Kaiba, following the deaths of their parents. Their mother died of eclampsia while giving birth to Mokuba, and their father was killed in a car accident in the infamous Izumo Earthquake Disaster.

Seto Kaiba succeeded Gozaburo as CEO of KaibaCorp at fifteen, making him the youngest person to ever lead a billion-dollar company. His youth left him no shortage of ideas, and he set the company on course for a seismic shift in focus. He went on a buying spree, absorbing a staggering number of promising computer technology companies in his first quarter as CEO. He also terminated operations at KaibaCorp’s global weapons testing centres and completely divested the company from projects supporting armed conflict. These actions led KaibaCorp to several high-profile lawsuits for defaulting on its contracts and sales agreements. These disputes were settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.     

Between the payouts, acquisitions and lack of customers, KaibaCorp was teetering on financial ruin. The company was saved with Kaiba’s most notable innovation: SolidVision, the holographic projection technology that brought Duel Monsters to life. This was followed by the Duel Disk, a revolutionary p2p interface that allowed duelists to compete in real-time holographic battles, becoming a staple for competitive players across the world. These commercial successes catapulted KaibaCorp into global fame and made Duel Monsters a cultural phenomenon, while signalling KaibaCorp’s new mission: to create, not destroy.

This pursuit has now brought KaibaCorp to the verge of another groundbreaking moment. Scheherazade, set to roll out this summer, will first be available at stadiums and theme parks before making its way into homes through a specialised hardware release. Duelists and VR enthusiasts alike are eagerly awaiting the chance to immerse themselves in the fully realised worlds this technology promises to deliver.

In many ways, KaibaCorp’s evolution is as poetic as it is fascinating. What was once a company defined by its contribution to destruction is now positioned to offer the world a new way of seeing itself, through stories, memories, and duels. 

“This is just the beginning. Scheherazade isn’t just a virtual space—it’s a new frontier for human imagination. It’s the bridge between what we can dream and what we can live.”

And in that, perhaps, lies Kaiba’s greatest victory: transforming a company of war into one that makes dreams reality.

______

The article featured two captioned pictures. Duel Monster Blue Eyes White Dragon, rendered in Scheherazade: a still of him pulled from the testing zone broadcast, looking up at Blue Eyes White Dragon. He was surprised at the lack of fear on his face– the light from the White Lightning Attack had washed every emotion into brightness. He was just vacant, ready, waiting.  He was more expressive in the second photograph: Father and son. One of the last before Gozaburo’s death. The man had a hand on his shoulder and was sneering down at him. Kaiba, fifteen, slanted his face to return his contempt, the corner of his mouth barely lifted in a matching, cruel smirk.

[lets-talk-gundam]

The MSA-0011 S Gundam

The early success of Project Zeta led to many new and innovative mobile suit designs. The introduction of new materials, new mechanisms, new weapons technologies, and new design talent at Anaheim opened the door for the company to dominate the MS development sector into the mid 90s UC.

During this period, a number of machines based on Project Zeta would see deployment by factions all across Earth-sphere. many of these post-Zeta machines would come to be known as "Anaheim Gundams", and would be regarded as some of the most influential designs in the history of mobile suits.

Developed for the Earth Federation forces sometime in the late 80s UC, the MSA-0011 S Gundam, also called the Superior Gundam and Iota Gundam internally at Anaheim, is a bit less well-known than its other Project Zeta siblings.

The machine featured a modular design, made up of three high-performance aerospace craft which combined via a core block system to form the full mobile suit. These units were the FXA-08BG Core Fighter, the G-Bomber, and the G-Attacker.

Despite similarities to the MSZ-010 ZZ Gundam, the design teams for the two machines largely worked independently of one another.

The S Gundam featured some unique equipment for the time, including the Beam Smart Gun, a powerful rifle that connected directly to the machine's power plant. It was also one of the earliest adopters of INCOMs and the quasi-psycommu system. Quasi-psycommu technology allows non-Newtype pilots to make use of formerly Newtype-exclusive weapon systems.

The S Gundam also saw several upgrade plans. These plans included the MSA-0011 [BST] S Gundam Booster Unit Type, the MSA-0011 [Bst] S Gundam Booster Unit Plan 303E "Deep Striker" , and the MSA-0011 [Ext] Ex-S Gundam.

The MSA-0011 [BST] S Gundam Unit Type and the MSA-0011 [Ext] Ex-S Gundam are both upgrades applied to the original unit, but the "Deep Striker" equipment was never built. The "Deep Striker" does appear as a playable unit in the SD Gundam G Generation series of games.

The S Gundam would also be developed into the Nero, a mass-production variant taking cues from it and the Lambda Gundam. It was used as the mainstay MS of the Federation's Task Force Alpha.

While all of this is rather impressive, the most notable part of the machine was undeniably its greatest strength. The S Gundam was equipped with the Advanced Logistic and Inconsequence Cognizing Equipment system. "ALICE" - as she was better known - was an advanced artificial intelligence designed to replace a human pilot.

WARNING!

The following section contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Gundam Sentinel! If you are interested in reading it, I highly recommend you do so!

ALICE was developed by Anaheim scientists Dr. Carol and Dr. Roots to automate certain functions of mobile suits. While this was possible previously, commands had to be programmed into the MS via a command console. The final objective of the project was to fully automate a Gundam-type mobile suit using ALICE.

She was programmed to grow and learn by observing and analyzing the actions of pilots, and was treated like a daughter by Dr. Roots. This caused tensions with Dr. Carol and other factions at Anaheim. A suspected act of sabotage resulted in an explosion that nearly destroyed ALICE, but Dr. Roots gave her life protecting her. The project was shelved for a time.

ALICE was picked back up later, being installed in the S Gundam and paired with Ryou Roots under the Federation's Task Force Alpha. She, along with the S Gundam, saw action during the Pezun rebellion perpetrated by the New Desides faction. This faction of Titans remnants and loyalists sought to break away from the Federation to further their own interests.

During combat, Ryou's lack of skill resulted in multiple near-death experiences. ALICE was responsible for saving his life on multiple occasions.

Learning from Ryou and other Task Force Alpha pilots, ALICE eventually developed an awareness of the world. She would deduce that friends were the most important thing to a person, after initially failing to comprehend Ryou's grief at the death of his fellow pilots.

Following this logic, she would eventually sacrifice herself to save the lives of her comrades. Her final words were thanks to Ryou for the memories and lessons she learned from him.

She would be destroyed during atmospheric entry.

The above machines were all designed by Hajime Katoki for the 1987 photo-novel Gundam Sentinel. Gundam Sentinel was written by Masaya Takahashi and published in Model Graphix magazine.

[psychics4unet]

2024: The Year Astrology Turned Everything Upside Down – Was It Really That Bad? 😱🌌

2024 was a year where astrology made its presence felt in some seriously intense ways, shaking up everything from personal lives to global events. The cosmic movements didn’t hold back, and it felt like the universe was pushing us all to evolve, grow, and adapt, whether we were ready or not. Here’s a deeper dive into the major astrological events of the year and how they impacted our world:

Pluto’s Shift into Aquarius: Pluto’s move into Aquarius signaled the beginning of a long period of transformation, not just on a personal level but on a global scale. The collective ideals and societal structures that we’ve known for so long were being questioned, and this was the time to embrace change. For many, this was the year to let go of outdated traditions that no longer served us, making room for new ways of thinking, particularly around technology, innovation, and social movements. On a personal level, you might have felt the need to break free from old systems or rethink your connection to technology. Maybe you found yourself diving deep into digital trends or supporting progressive movements that align with your values. Globally, 2024 saw AI and tech innovations taking the lead in transforming industries. Social justice movements also gained serious momentum, advocating for systemic change in the face of deeply ingrained societal issues.

Mercury Retrogrades in Fire Signs: Mercury retrograded through Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius, and these fire signs added extra flare to the usual chaos that comes with Mercury’s backward motion. Communication breakdowns were more frequent, and travel plans became a nightmare. It was easy to feel misunderstood or encounter unexpected delays in daily life. You might have found yourself having heated arguments, only to realize later that it was all based on miscommunication. And if you were planning to travel, you probably experienced frustrating delays or changes in your itinerary. On a global level, businesses across the world faced communication breakdowns, and major international companies had to deal with delays or even cancelled projects. Airports and flight hubs were a mess, with constant cancellations or delays. Social media platforms and tech services were plagued with outages, leaving people frustrated and disconnected.

Jupiter in Gemini: Jupiter’s transit through Gemini pushed curiosity to new heights, opening the doors to information, learning, and exchange. It was a time where many of us felt overwhelmed by the amount of information we were consuming. There were so many ideas and opportunities coming at us from every direction that it was hard to decide where to focus our energy. On a personal level, you may have found yourself juggling a lot - trying to explore new ideas, make plans, and take on projects, only to realize that you were spreading yourself too thin. It became clear that, while it’s fun to explore, it’s important to choose one path to fully invest in. On a global scale, the media became a fast-moving machine, constantly churning out information—both helpful and harmful. With the rise of misinformation, it became increasingly difficult to separate fact from fiction. News outlets, social media influencers, and even governments struggled to keep the narrative clear, with fake news spreading faster than the truth.

Eclipses in Pisces and Virgo: The eclipses in Pisces and Virgo were all about bringing sudden, unexpected changes and revelations, particularly in areas of health, daily routines, and service. These eclipses marked a time where we had to face endings, making room for new beginnings. You might have experienced a health wake-up call or found yourself reorganizing your daily routines. This was the time when things that weren’t working anymore - whether they were relationships, habits, or career paths - came to an end, making way for something new. Globally, we saw huge shifts in healthcare systems as the effects of the pandemic lingered. Countries began rethinking how to make healthcare more equitable, focusing on improving access and care for all citizens. Health professionals were challenged to find new ways to approach wellness, and the pandemic’s effects on mental health were still a central conversation in many parts of the world.

Mars Retrograde in Aries: Mars retrograde in Aries stirred up a lot of frustration. This wasn’t the time to be impulsive or rush into action. When Mars retrogrades, it pushes us to reassess our desires and motivations, which could lead to conflicts or unanticipated delays. You might have felt like you were moving backwards in your personal goals or facing obstacles that made you question your drive. Aries, being the ruler of action, brought out some heated energy that could have led to impulsive decisions, only to realize later that they were rushed and not well thought out. On a global level, this energy manifested in political and military tensions. Leaders acted rashly, making decisions without fully thinking them through. Conflicts intensified, and negotiations stalled as countries struggled with the impulsive actions of others.

Saturn Square Uranus: The ongoing tension between Saturn and Uranus created an atmosphere of uncertainty and struggle. On a personal level, you might have felt torn between wanting stability and the drive for something new and exciting. There was a clash between the old ways of doing things and the push for new ideas and innovation. It became a battle between holding onto the familiar and embracing the unknown. This energy led to personal breakthroughs for some, but for others, it created stress and resistance. Globally, this aspect was a driving force behind the rise of protests and movements for social change. Countries had to decide whether to continue with outdated systems or adopt progressive policies. The tension was palpable, and the world felt the weight of it in the form of cultural shifts, government reforms, and growing calls for justice.

Venus Retrograde in Leo: Venus retrograde in Leo was a powerful time for revisiting relationships, creativity, and self-expression. This transit forced us to look back at our past relationships and figure out where we might need to heal or let go. If you found yourself reconnecting with old flames or dealing with unresolved issues from the past, it wasn’t surprising. There may have been moments when you questioned your self-worth, wondering how others perceived you or whether your love life was as fulfilling as you wanted it to be. On a global level, Venus retrograde in Leo brought celebrity relationships and public breakups into the spotlight. People everywhere debated love, power, and the complexities of self-expression. High-profile public figures found themselves under the microscope as fans and media questioned their choices, their relationships, and how they presented themselves to the world.

Neptune Square Mars: Neptune’s square to Mars created a foggy, deceptive energy that made it hard to see things clearly. On a personal level, this aspect made it easy to make decisions based on illusion rather than reality. If you were feeling confused about your desires or unsure about your next steps, this was the time when clarity seemed just out of reach. It was important to be cautious and double-check any decisions before acting. On a global scale, nations found themselves making rash decisions based on unclear intelligence or deceptive tactics. This led to mistakes, poor planning, and in some cases, conflicts that could have been avoided if a little more care had been taken.

Uranus in Taurus: Uranus continued its journey through Taurus, shaking up the financial world and changing how we value material things. On a personal level, you may have experienced financial ups and downs or found yourself questioning your relationship with money. Whether it was a sudden shift in how you earn or spend, Uranus encouraged embracing innovation in your material world. On a global scale, the financial markets were hit hard, with cryptocurrency and digital assets causing volatility. Meanwhile, traditional banks struggled to adapt to the new tech-driven economy, and economic systems had to reevaluate their approach to investing, wealth distribution, and digital currency.

Chiron in Aries: Chiron in Aries highlighted deep wounds around identity and self-assertion, encouraging us to confront insecurities head-on. On a personal level, you might have struggled with feelings of inadequacy or doubt when it came to asserting yourself or following your own path. It was a time to heal and truly embrace your individuality. Globally, movements around national identity, power, and self-expression came to the forefront. People everywhere were questioning long-standing structures, demanding recognition for their unique identities, and pushing for equality in the face of systemic injustice.

2024 was a year filled with both challenges and opportunities for growth. Whether personally or globally, these astrological events encouraged deep reflection, transformation, and healing. While the year presented difficulties, it also paved the way for innovation, change, and new possibilities. If you made it through 2024, you’re stronger, wiser, and more prepared for what comes next!

[thursdayisbetterthanfriday]

Cybernetics with Chinese Characteristics & why we suck at the real Grand Strategy Game

Part 2 - The Quickening

Back in 2023, I wrote this more blog-like post about the mid 20th century McCarthyite purges of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the knock on effects that had - Namely the inception of the Chinese nuclear program, one-child policy and Chinese computing scene.

Since nothing is new under the sun, we have recently witnessed yet another example of America shooting itself in the foot, yet again, due to it's McCarthyite style purge of Chinese technology.

The release of the Chinese created AI system DeepSeek R1 last week has lead to the largest US stock market loss in history with NVIDIA stock decimated.

A record $465 Billion was wiped off its valuation in a single day. In 2024, the government of Turkey spent this much in a year on it's responsibilities?

Why did this happen?

As always, a lot can be put down to US foreign policy, and the in-intended implications of seemingly positive actions.

Do you want to start a trade war?

Back in the relatively uncontroversial days of the first Trump Presidency (Yes it does feel odd saying that) there were scandals with hardware provided by Chinese company Huawei. This led to the  National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 which explicitly banned Huawei and ZTE's hardware from use in US Government institutions. It also meant the US had to authorise US component manufacturer purchases by these companies.

Crucially this had a 27 month window. This allowed both companies to switch suppliers, and production to domestic suppliers. This actually led to Chinese chip advances. Following on from this came the 2022 move by the US Department of Commerce: "Commerce Implements New Export Controls on Advanced Computing and Semiconductor Manufacturing Items to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) ". This further limited the supply of semiconductor, supercomputer, and similar hardware to the PRC and associated countries.

Ok, well so far this is fairly dry stuff. You might think it would hamper Chinese development and, to some extent, it did.

It also proved to be the main catalyst for one financial quant.

Meet the Quant

Meet Liang Wenfeng (梁文锋). Educated to masters level, Liang was keen to apply machine learning methods to various field, but couldn't get a break. Finally, in the mid 2000's, he settled on a career investigating quantitative trading using machine learning techniques.

He became successful, founding several trading firms based around using machine learning methods, but his interest in base AI never seemed to cease. It was in 2021 that he started purchasing multiple NVIDIA GPUs to create a side project, leading to the creation of DeepSeek in 2023.

Now, due to import limitations, there were limitations on computation. This, however, did not stop DeepSeek's programming team.

Instead they used it as their strength.

Constrains Breed Innovation

For many years, the Western model of AI releases have focussed on making ever larger and larger models.

Why?

Let's break this down from an evolutionary point of view. Modern Western technology companies are largely monopolistic and monolithic. Many of these companies have previously hired staff at higher salaries not to fill roles, but to deny their competitors, and middle market firms, high-flying staff.

They also closely guard trade secrets. What's the training data? What algorithms were used in construction? Guess you'd better chat up some Silicon Valley bros at parties to find out.

For these kinds of firms, having control over large models, housed in data centres makes perfect sense. Controlling model deployment on their own computing systems, and not using local machines, means that they can not only control their systems more carefully, it also means that they can gatekeep access.

If your business model is to allow people to access your models on your servers, and your employees are focussed on making the biggest, best, models, there is no impetus to innovate more efficient, smaller models.

Companies such as OpenAI therefore have the following traits:

Research/Model focus on size over efficiency

Profit driven culture, with emphasis on closed source code

OpenAI's initial focus was as a non-for-profit developing Artificial General Intelligence. This became a for-profit driven company over time. - “I personally chose the price and thought we would make some money.” - Sam Altman

Staff working within paradigm they set in the early 2020's with established code libraries and direct contact with hardware companies creating chips

Significant capital investment - Upwards of several $ billions

DeepSeek, in comparison, is slightly different

For DeepSeek, necessity made innovation necessary. In order to create similar, or better models, than their counterparts, they needed to significantly optimise their code. This requires significantly more work to create, and write, libraries compared to OpenAI.

DeepSeek was started by financial quants, with backgrounds in mainly mathematics and AI. With a focus on mathematics and research, the main drive of many in the company has been exploration of the research space over concerns about profitability.

DeepSeek has also done what OpenAI stopped years ago: actually releasing the code and data for their models. Not only can these models therefore be run via their own gated servers, anyone can replicate their work and make their own system.

For DeepSeek, their traits were:

Research/Model focus on both efficiency and accuracy

Research driven culture, with open nature - “Basic science research rarely offers high returns on investment” - Liang Wenfeng

Strong mathematical background of staff, with ability to work around software, and hardware, constraints

Low capital investment of around $5.5 million

From an evolutionary point of view, DeepSeek's traits have outcompeted those of OpenAI.

More efficient models cost less to run. They also more portable to local machines.

The strong ability of DeepSeek's research focussed staff allowed them to innovate around hardware constraints

Opening up the code to everyone allows anyone (still with the right hardware) to make their own version.

To top it off, the cost to make, and run, DeepSeek R1 is a fraction of the cost of OpenAI's model

House of Cards

Now we can return to today. NVIDIA has lost significant market value. It's not just limited to NVIDIA, but to the entire US technology sector with the most AI adjacent companies losing from 10% to 30% of their valuation in a single day.

The culture, and business model, of OpenAI isn't just limited to OpenAI, but to the entire US technology ecosystem. The US model has been to create rentier-style financial instruments at sky-high valuations.

US tech stocks have been one of the only success stories for America over the past few decades, ever since the offshoring of many manufacturing industries. Like a lost long-unemployed Detroit auto-worker the US has been mainlining technology like Fentanyl, ignoring the anti-trust doctors advice, injecting pure deregulated substances into its veins.

The new AI boom? A new stronger hit, ready for Wall Street, and Private Equity to tie the tourniquet around its arm and pump it right into the arteries.

Like Prometheus, DeepSeek has delved deep and retrieved fire from the algorithmic gods, and shown it's creation to the world. The stock market is on fire, as the traders are coming off of their high, realising they still live in the ruin of barren, decrepit, warehouses and manufactories. The corporate heads, and company leaders reigning over the wreckage like feudal lords, collecting tithes from the serfs working their domain.

A Tale of Two Cities

The rise of DeepSeek isn't just a one-off story of derring-do in the AI world: It's a symbolic representation of the changing world order. DeepSeek is but one company among many who are outcompeting the US, and the world, in innovation.

Where once US free-markets led the world in manufacturing, technology and military capability, now the US is a country devoid of coherent state regulated free-market principles - its place as the singular world power decimated by destroying the very systems which made it great.

"Our merchants and master-manufacturers complain much of the bad effects of high wages in raising the price, and thereby lessening the sale of their goods both at home and abroad. They say nothing concerning the bad effects of high profits. They are silent with regard to the pernicious effects of their own gains. They complain only of those of other people." - Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations

By selling the jobs of working class communities to overseas businesses, destroying unions and creating rentier based business models without significant anti-trust measures, US business and political elites have sealed the present fate of the country.

The CCP led, but strongly anti-trust enforcing, China has been able to innovate, ironically, using the free-market principles of Adam Smith to rise up and create some of the world's best innovations. The factories, opened by Western business leaders to avoid union/worker labour costs in their own countries, have led Shenzhen, and similar cities, to become hubs of technological innovation - compounding their ability to determine the future of technologies across the world.

Will America be able to regain its position on top? It's too early to say, but the innovative, talented, people who made America in the 20th century can certainly do it again.

As Franklin D. Roosevelt once said: “The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerated the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself...

We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.

Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me—and I welcome their hatred.”

Until then, here's a farewell to the American Century 在那之前, 再见美国世纪

[serenastark-official]

🧪💠 03: How NOT to Set the Lab on Fire: A Guide from Serena Stark (Yes, I’m Qualified) 🧪💠

Okay, people (looking at you Emma), listen up. I know I’m probably the last person you’d want advice from on this—after all, my track record with fire might as well be the reason Tony invested in sprinklers—but here we are.

Step 1: Know Your Materials.

Science is fun (at least until you create a chemical reaction that’s a little too enthusiastic). Before you mix anything, READ the damn labels. If it says “flammable,” don’t make it your next big project. Just trust me on this one. The explosion you don’t want is always one click away from your experiments.

Step 2: Respect the equipment.

Seriously, the lab isn’t a free-for-all. If you accidentally start poking around with the plasma torch, or somehow get distracted by a weird glowing thing (I've been there), you’re gonna regret it. So, when the manual says, “Don’t touch this unless you’re qualified,” just—take the hint. Trust me, the fire extinguisher will not be your best friend in this situation.

Step 3: Don’t mix random chemicals.

You think you’re Tony Stark, just tossing together whatever looks shiny? Nah, fam. You’re not a genius inventor (yet), so don’t try to make your own “super-cool new element” by mixing everything on the shelf. You will regret it when you’re trying to figure out how the whole lab ended up in a 10-foot radius of flame.

Step 4: Understand the difference between ‘testing’ and ‘blowing up the lab’.

I get it, you’re curious. But there’s a fine line between running an experiment and deciding the best way to cook your lunch via combustion. And trust me, the fire alarm doesn’t care if you were just “experimenting with the fusion reactor again.”

Step 5: Stop assuming things will be fine.

Just because it “looks safe” doesn’t mean it is safe. I know you’ve got this confidence thing down (I mean, you are a Stark), but if the metal's sizzling or something’s starting to smell like burnt toast, immediately back off. It’s not a sign to proceed. Trust me, I learned the hard way.

Step 6: Have a fire extinguisher, and know how to use it.

I get it, Emma, you’re all about the “cutting-edge tech” and “sophisticated gadgets,” but when it comes to fire, old school is where it’s at. Fire extinguisher should be your first line of defense. And for the love of all that is holy, make sure you know how to use it without just flailing around like I do when I panic. Fire extinguishers do not respond to panic. Trust me.

Step 7: Don’t Use My Lab for Experimenting.

Listen, I’m all for creativity and innovation, but if you’re going to keep setting the place on fire, maybe find a different lab. If I come in and smell burning plastic one more time, I swear, I’ll send Jeff after you. And, spoiler alert: He’s not gonna be happy either.

Step 8: Don’t Get Fancy with the Electricity.

Emma. Sweetheart. I know you're a Stark prodigy—but don’t go playing electrical wizard with a bunch of wires and a half-baked idea. You don’t need to turn the lab into a lightning storm just to impress the machines. Trust me, I’ve been there, and it never ends well. Remember when I electrified the fridge just trying to get ice cream? Yeah. That was a fun day for the lab.

Step 9: If all else fails, RUN.

Sometimes, despite all your best efforts, things catch fire. If that happens—step one is to not panic, and step two is to make sure you're getting out safely. The lab might be the birthplace of genius, but it’s also where disasters are born. So get the heck out, and leave the rest to the actual professionals (read: Tony, Pepper, someone who's not me).

Step 10: Learn from Your Mistakes (and Mine).

Let’s be real for a second. I’ve blown up more labs than I can count. (That’s a very Tony Stark trait I inherited, for sure.) But here’s the thing—every time I’ve learned from my epic fails, and so should you. So, next time you almost set off a chain reaction of fiery chaos, take a deep breath, stop, and think about your actions before everything around you turns into Crispy City again.

In Conclusion:

Listen, Emma, I know you’re a Stark, and burning things is kind of in our blood (right along with the whole “blow up the universe” vibe), but let’s try to keep it to a minimum, okay? You don’t need to give everyone a free pyro show.

But trust me, we’re not all Tony Stark, and sometimes, we don’t get to “just invent our way out of it” when things go wrong.

If I can do it, you can do it. And if you do it, I won’t need to make another post about setting the lab on fire.