#filed under: asterisk

[bjorkshire-pudding]

Jūshirō my beloved

[bjorkshire-pudding]

Same op, same, only I’m not apologizing

i apologize for the person i will become when this mf shows up

[bjorkshire-pudding]

A moment to appreciate how my himbo was completely honest

[bjorkshire-pudding]

I love one (1) psychopath

We also don’t talk about how much ass he was kicking with just one arm

I’m foaming at the mouth

[remxedmoon]

your friends don’t know what to do.

so!! i redrew every single enemy in the game. in the span of like 9 days (excluding the king i made him right after the last update). that’s abbbout 79* drawings total, with only 3 custom ones for once!! i’m so normal. as always, these are free to use with credit!! go nuts!! spritesheets are included <3

got some notes under the cut, along with As Many Enemies As I Could Fit without making this post obnoxiously long. and i failed. i had to swap between the app and browser several times and i still couldn’t fit every drawing. open this post at your own risk (silly).

okay so first of all. what’s with the asterisk. well. I Drew A Lot More Than 79 Assets Actually. they’re getting posted separately, because this post is ABSURDLY long. you can find most of them in the miscellaneous folder, but for a bit of clarity, i added the teleport map and a bunch of ui elements that reference sprites from the icon sheet. and also the game over and loop back animations but i haven’t finished the spritesheets for those because they’re a pain in the ass so they’re not in the drive yet

if you missed my complaining a few days ago, a few enemies might look a bit crunchy in the actual game? specifically, calamité and désespoir were drawn at the wrong size, because their images in the files do not match the spritesheets! i avoided the issue with most of the other enemies, those two just blindsided me. sorry about that!

^sadnesses having inconsistent designs was actually a running theme with these. détresse rock has an unused design in the files (which i managed to catch before having to redo it thankfully), anxiété has extra spikes that don’t appear on the spritesheet (sorry i was too lazy to fix that one), even the version of the friend rescue in the files doesn’t match any of the frames in the spritesheet. hfjfhfj. sorry about the quality issues.

tangentially related to that, massive thank you to @riggedbones for grabbing the individual frames for the animations for me!! they made my life so much easier. vs friends would’ve been so annoying…

speaking of the animations! hi can you tell i’m not an animator. these were my first time doing Anything animation related since, like, middle school. super sorry for the Jank in some of these! the friend rescue looked way better when i drew it 💔💔.

bourdon’s hands also might act a bit odd, my apologies. the sizing ingame is SUPER inconsistent (why is one of the hands SMALLER than the other????). once i’m able to actually test the mod, i’ll try to fix it wauaua.

the 3 custom sprites are for the triplets! i ended up making two versions for each, one that follows the ingame art, and one with my personal designs for them. i like my own designs for them, but they’re a lot easier to tell apart? so if you want to use the ones that fit the gimmick better, they’re also in the drive 👍

this update. was originally going to have way more custom art. i’ve actually got an act 6 siffrin enemy asset in my art program! but school started and i decided it’d be better to just get the normal stuff done. so the mod can actually come out in a reasonable timeframe. promise that’ll all come out Later! sorry about the wait 😓😓😓

also adding this because i almost forgot: no i don’t know if these are compatible with sasasaap. i don’t have the game still and it’s not my main priority atm, apologies!

okay! that was a lot! and there’s a ton of art down here! thank you for reading all this, i’ll be back with the game over animations and teleport map pretty soon! like. within the weekend. enjoy!!!

[librarycards]

Hi! I have recently gotten more into reading fiction and am trying to catch up on influential and classic works that I neglected previously. I have limited time and a learning disability that makes reading hard (I have found audiobooks are a lifesaver, thus my current mission!). However, I am a bit wary of mainstream English language "best of fiction" lists as they often include works that tend to align with mainstream western anti-communist, racist, imperialist viewpoints. I am fine with engaging with works that I ideologically disagree with, and often do, but given my difficulty reading I'd rather prioritize important works that might be left off of many "best of" lists. I am searching around for recommendations and have found many but thought I'd also ask you. Do you have any recommendations of books or lists of books I could reference? Thanks!

hi! so, from this message, i'm getting that you want fiction to read/listen to that diverge from western/imperialist ideologies that aren't spoken about enough. i can help, though i can't guarantee all of these are available as audiobooks, as many books that diverge from mainstream/state-approved views are also seen as less sellable by big-4 publishers, and thus published by indie presses with fewer resources for multiple formats. still, i think everything on this list is worth a look!

Jamaica Kincaid, A Small Place (well-known and kinda canonical in decolonial lit, FOR A REASON!!!!!)

Gayl Jones, Corregidora*

Valeria Luiselli, Lost Children Archive and The Story of My Teeth

Larissa Lai, Salt Fish Girl (filed under: books I am literally always recommending. always. at all times.)

Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Islands of Decolonial Love*

Tsitsi Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions*

Ntozake Shange, A Daughter's Geography

Ruth Ozeki, My Year of Meats

Camila Sosa Villada, Bad Girls

Jamie Berrout, Otros Valles (out of print, avail on the pirate sites)

Qiu Maojin, Notes of a Crocodile

Cherie Dimaline, The Marrow Thieves *

Marcial Gala, The Black Cathedral*

Vanessa Onwuemezi, Dark Neighbourhood

(*asterisked entries are things i listened to, so there's def audio for them)

hope you find something you like!

[bjorkshire-pudding]

Ok ok ok so

Sorry to dissertate on your post op but I need to talk about this.

In all my rereads of the manga and this arc being in my mind over the years, I never, ever connected the dots, not until this arc was animated.

Jugram's uncle was abusing him. Those marks on his arm that just looked like scratches in the manga? A lot clearer in the anime as bruises.

The way he physically curls in on himself when Bazz calls him Jugo and says, "Please don't call me that, I don't like it", and the way we see in the scene immediately following it that his drunk uncle calls him "my precious Jugo" and says "you know I can't do anything without you"... and the way Jugram further curls in on himself and cringes?

The way, when Yhwach destroys the village and burns down both boys' family homes, Bazz is angry about it, but Jugram is totally indifferent about the fact that his uncle died in the fire?

None of that even clicked in my mind until just recently, when this episode in the anime aired.

We don't know if it was just violence or if it was also sexual abuse/violence, but either way, his only relative, who was tasked with taking care of him and should have been protecting him, was mistreating him in a horrible way.

I would always say to myself, "Why is Jugram so loyal to this dude who basically destroyed his life?" But to Jugram, Yhwach was not the enemy. He was his savior. He rescued him from his uncle and an awful situation.

What makes my heart hurt even more is that Bazz probably didn't realize what was going on either, or maybe he knew something was wrong but just didn't catch the gravity of it. So maybe he thought the same way I did - "why are you loyal to this dude who ruined our lives?"

This scene... this scene now is so much more heartbreaking than it was when I read it the first time years ago.

"I thought I'd feel much worse...losing to you..."

BLEACH: THE BLOOD WARFARE (COUR 3) EP. 12: Friend

[lisenberry]

Sneak peek at Ch. 2 of this one.

The mountain is you

You and John share a drink and few personal questions as you get to know each other before your first session.

E/MDNI/18+

1.1k

CW: Kink/bdsm negotiating, talk of pain, choking and past medical trauma/limits.

“What does that file say about me?”  You sipped your pint, finding your throat suddenly dry and your forehead warm, and in need of something to do with your hands.  He was too intense. 

Impenetrable.

He didn’t look down at the file, instead kept it closed on the table.  His pen held between his two hands, contemplative and resolute.

“That you’re a pain slut.  With a high tolerance.”  His voice didn’t rise above his gruff, conversational tone, and you didn’t bother to look around at your fellow patrons seated near you.  With the din of the pub, they wouldn’t be able to hear.  “Does that bother you?”

“No.  It’s the truth.”  You didn’t have anything to hide.  Not from him at least.  Not if this was going to work.

“What is it about pain that you seek out?”  He crossed his arms over the table and leaned in closer.  Biceps bunching under his t-shirt.  Ghost had always worn a suit.  John looked like he came from a construction site. Unshaven and slightly dangerous.

You didn't hate it.

“When it’s done right, there’s a moment right before it gets to be too much that my body starts to fight back.  As if to say, ‘Go on, I dare you.  Is that all you’ve got to give?’  And just then, right before I give in and quit, it’s the most powerful I’ve ever been.  The most alive.”

“It’s the rush then, is it?”  He studied you like a therapist.  And you felt like a patient.  Only this therapist’s job was to tie you up and make you cry.  And come.  And cry again.  The thought made you shudder inwardly with anticipation.   

“It doesn’t work for all pain.  It’s not the blood or the risk of injury.  I don’t get off at the thought of the dentist...” you trailed off with a light laugh, finding it easier to talk to him about this that you'd thought. “But sometimes, the more helpless I am, the stronger it feels.  There aren’t too many things you can do without thinking about it.  Against your will. Beating, breathing, feeling.  There’s a freedom in it.  Again, if it’s done right.”

“You don’t like to think, then.  You’d rather be surprised?”

“I don’t mind surprises.  I like them, actually.  We don’t have to negotiate everything ahead of time, so long as it feels right in the scene.”

You finished off the last of your pint and smoothed the napkin that had caught to the condensation on the bottom.  A first date, a therapy session, and an interview all in one.  And yet it didn’t fill you with the same anxiety as it should.  It could’ve gone wrong in a hundred different ways, and yet the more you confided, the more you relaxed. 

“Talk to me about these hard lines.”  He opened your file, skimmed it, and moved his pen back and forth as if he was underlining something boldly.

“Always be honest with me about what you’re going to do.  Don’t play games or make me have to choose something in order to please you.  Keep me engaged, but if I have to make a decision it will take me out of it.”

“That’s important to know, thank you.”  He made another note on the page.  “It also says no choking, but with an asterisk next to it.  Care you elaborate?��

“When I was little, I had terrible asthma.  Life threatening at times.  It’s under control now, but not being able to breathe, or even the threat of it, doesn’t...” you paused, searching for the right word to convey your biggest fear, “arouse me.  Let’s just say.”

“I understand why it wouldn’t.”  No sympathetic indulgence, thankfully, just a solid nod of support. 

Could he relate?  You wondered what hard lines he had.  You couldn’t imagine anything scaring him. Ghost had reacted the same when you’d had this discussion.  No questions, no bargaining.  Just respect for your vulnerability.  Surprising, from two men who seemingly had none themselves.

It prompted you to delve in further, and leave no room for misunderstanding, just in case.

“No collars, no ribbons, bows, belts, neckties, your hands, anything please.”

“Neck is off limits.  Noted.” 

“You can still kiss me there, if that’s something you like.  Or you can slap me, to get my attention.  And if you need to move me around or hold me down, you can grab my hair.”

You punctuated the last with a helpful smile and a shrug of your shoulders.  His gaze seemed to find your neck then, perhaps contemplating what it’d be like to kiss it.  Did the thought bring him as much excitement as it did you?

“Fair enough.”  A contented grunt was all you received in response.

“You said that this would be a reciprocating agreement.  What do you want from me?”  The question that had been on your mind since Ghost had called you.

With him, you just paid him money.  That was your end of the deal.  Without payment, that left too much to your imagination and you’d let it run a bit wild. 

“I’ll tell you what I want, and when I want it.  Is that clear?  I won’t ask for your permission, and you’ll never have to wonder what I’m thinking.  I don’t hear yes and no, or green and yellow.  Red means take a break and try something else, and the safe word is a hard stop to call it a day.”

“Understood.  Thank you.”  It was a plan you could definitely work with.  “But what about you?  What do you hope to get out of this?”

“I like to be in charge.  Take care of things.  And do the hard things that need to be done.”

“And who takes care of you?”  A simple question, but he seemed to bristle at it.  Perhaps you’d pushed him too far, too soon. 

“Good little girls who listen and behave.”  He adjusted himself in his seat, straightening as if to get back some control.  “Let’s talk punishments.  No spanking, obviously.  You’ll enjoy it too much.”  His eyes seemed to darken in both amusement and desire.

No doubt proud of himself for changing the subject and redirecting the friendly interrogation.

“Hopefully I won’t displease you, but you could ignore me.  That will make me rethink my attitude real quick,” you replied, with an answering grin.

“Ignore you?  I think that would hurt me more than you, sweetheart.”

Sweetheart.  You liked that.  Probably said as much with the flood of heat to your cheeks and the breathless giggle that sounded so foreign to your ears. 

“I think we’ll get along just fine...John?”  You questioned what name he wanted to be called.

“Sir.  Just sir.”

[bjorkshire-pudding]

Please enjoy these low quality frames of my favorite idiot doing the most with one arm because he’s a psycho

I love him so much

I bet he could fix me

[lukethompsondaily]

Luke Thompson Master Drive

Crossed out titles are not in this drive but can be easily found (exceptions marked with asterisks and detailed under the cut). Crossed out and red means that although the productions have been recorded there are no files available.

If you want access to it just DM me!

STAGE

• Shakespeare's Globe: A Midsummer Night's Dream (2014) • Hampstead Theatre at Home: Tiger Country (2014) • Globe on Screen: Julius Caesar (2015) • The Complete Walk: Romeo and Juliet (2016) • Hamlet (2018) • National Theatre Live: King Lear (2018) • Tikkun Olam (2022)* • A Little Life (2023)

TV

• In the Club (2014‑2016) • The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher (2011‑2014) • Kiss Me First (2018-2018) • Transatlantic (2023-2023) • Bridgerton (2020‑ )

FILM

• Dunkirk (2017) • Making Noise Quietly (2019) • Misbehaviour (2020)

AUDIO IN PROGRESS

• Between the Ears: The Shepherd by Frederick Forsyth • The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky • My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier • The Unknown Kimi Raikkonen by Kari Hotakainen • Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave • Hard by a Great Forest by Leo Vardiashvili • Seventeen by Joe Gibson • The Ticket Collector from Belarus by Neil Hanson and Mike Anderson

* = This one was available for a year to rent online but it seems that no one did a screen recording so it’s unavailable for the time being.

[bjorkshire-pudding]

🥺🥺🥺

Captain of the 13th Division

[hihi-hello]

Subs for the Original Japanese production of Pacific Overtures!

I love this version of the show. However, due to the language barrier, the closest thing people had to watching this production is the later, subjectively inferior Broadway revival. So, I edited English subtitles made by @weareallangry to fit this recording!

Click here for the zip file!

This contains a specifically made video including recorded footage and more professional clips. It won't sync to any other version.

To watch the video:

Download and open the zip file.

Open the video in any video player that includes subtitles. I suggest VLC Media Player since its free, open source, and you can scale the subtitles down.

Apply the subtitles file to the video. In VLC, for example, click "Add Subtitle File" is under the "Subtitle" option.

Watch Pacific Overtures.

DISCLAIMER: This is based on the 2004 Broadway revival script. Anything not found in the script needed to be interpreted. However, my understanding of Japanese isn't good. So please don't take anything with an asterisk (*) as entirely accurate.

I've made these subtitles partly to fuel interest in making a real Japanese-to-English fan translation. With my limited understanding, I probably can't be involved in such a process. At the very least, the fun facts section of "Next" needs translation:

If you can translate this, please message me!

Don't know about this version of Pacific Overtures? Want some clearer visuals? Read below!

Original Japanese Production of Pacific Overtures at the Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall

This version of Pacific Overtures was made and performed by Japanese talent, a part of the National Theatre of Tokyo. Directed by Amon Miyamoto, this production was made to bring the show up to then-modern Japanese standards. After its original run, the production was then brought to and performed only twice more in the US.

2004 Broadway Revival of Pacific Overtures

This version was then adapted back into English for a Broadway revival. However, the revival brought a drastically reduced orchestration and altered costumes that ignored the original's minimalistic and meaningful direction. The singing wasn't the greatest either.

The Broadway production disappointed many who had seen the Japanese version and the original Broadway version. Overall, people felt like something was missing.

It was then revived in Japan in 2011 with a new cast, added effects, and reverted all the changes made for the American version:

[canonmisogynyvictimstournament]

TOURNAMENT PARTICIPANTS

Greetings, everyone, our contestants have been finalized, and I want to provide a certain opportunity before the preliminaries begin. Namely, to provide additional propaganda for competitors in need of it. So, I have created a form to collect this new propaganda, and a list of both preliminary and non-preliminary participants under the cut. An asterisk next to a name indicates they have fewer than three pieces of propaganda, which is the amount that will be included in each poll. This form will be open for the duration of the tournament. You can make as many submissions you want for any character.

NOTE: The order of participants does not reflect the bracket matchups. Preliminary matchups will be announced next week, and the complete bracket will be announced after the preliminary round is finished.

UPDATE: Additional characters have been added in bold because I failed to fill out the bracket by counting incorrectly. One has been added to the preliminary round, and the others are regular competitors.

PRELIMINARY PARTICIPANTS

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER/ANGEL

Cordelia Chase

Illyria*

Kendra Young*

Winifred "Fred" Burkle

DC COMICS

Alex DeWitt - AUTOMATIC ENTRY

Barbara Gordon

Cassandra Cain

Katma Tui*

Koriand’r aka Starfire*

Pantha*

Stephanie Brown

Talia al Ghul

Tara Markov*

JOJO'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE

Dragona Joestar (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: The JOJOLands)*

Holy Kujo (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders)*

Lisa Lisa (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency )

Lucy Steel (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run)

KAMEN RIDER

Is (Kamen Rider 01)*

Kanon Fukami (Kamen Rider Ghost)*

Poppy Pipopapo (Kamen Rider Ex-Aid)*

Saki Momose (Kamen Rider Ex-Aid)*

MARVEL COMICS

Elektra Natchios (Marvel Comics)*

Elektra Natchios (NMCU)*

MY HERO ACADEMIA

Ochako Uraraka - AUTOMATIC ENTRY

Magne (My Hero Academia)*

Momo Yaoyorozu

Nemuri Kayama*

Toru Hagakure*

STAR TREK

Deanna Troi (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

Jadzia Dax (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)*

Kes (Star Trek: Voyager)*

Seven of Nine (Star Trek: Voyager)

Tasha Yar (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

T'Pol (Star Trek: Enterprise)*

SUPERNATURAL

Bela Talbot

Charlie Bradbury

Eileen Leahy*

Mary Winchester*

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA

Tetra (The Legend of Zelda: Windwaker)*

Zelda (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom)*

WARRIOR CATS

Bumble*

Leafpool

Spottedleaf

Squirrelflight

YU-GI-OH!

Aki Izayoi/Akiza Izinski (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's)*

Aoi Zaizen/Skye Zaizen (Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS)*

Kotori Mizuki (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL)*

Mai Valentine (Yu-Gi-Oh!)

NON-PRELIMINARY PARTICIPANTS

Abbie Mills (Sleepy Hollow)*

Ada Vessalius (Pandora Hearts)*

Agent Texas (Red vs Blue)*

Alex DeWitt (DC Comics)

Allura (Voltron: Legendary Defender)

Alys Brangwin (Phantasy Star IV)*

Amber Volakis (House MD)*

Amy Amanda Allen (The A-Team (TV))*

Amy Pond (Doctor Who)*

Amy Rose (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Ann Takamaki (Persona 5)

April O'Neil (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012))

Arcee (Transformers)

Asuna (Sword Art Online)*

Athena Cykes (Ace Attorney)

Azula (Avatar the Last Airbender)

Britta Perry (Community)*

Brunhilda aka Mym (Dragalia Lost)*

Carmelita Montoya Fox (Sly Cooper )*

Casca (Berserk)

Celica (Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia)

Chi-Chi (Dragon Ball)*

Chloe Bourgeois (Miraculous Ladybug)

Chloe von Einzbern (Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA ILLYA)*

Clarke Griffin (The 100)*

Daenerys Targaryen (Game of Thrones)*

Dahlia Hawthorne (Ace Attorney)

Elya Musayeva (Топи/The Swamps (2021))*

Eve (Paradise Lost)*

Flora Reinhold (Professor Layton)

Gamora (Marvel Cinematic Universe)*

Grelle Sutcliff (Black Butler)*

Gwen (BBC Merlin)*

Gwen Stacy (Marvel Comics)*

Hélène Kuragina (War and Peace)

Hinata Hyuuga (Naruto)*

Irene Adler (BBC Sherlock)*

Iris Sagan (AI: the Somnium Files)*

Jade (Dragon Quest 11)*

Jade Harley (Homestuck)

Jane Crocker (Homestuck)

Jennifer Lopez (John Dies At The End)*

Jiang Yanli (Mo Dao Zu Shi)

Julia (Hellraiser)*

Julia Wicker (The Magicians)*

Juvia Lockser (Fairy Tail)*

Kaede Akamatsu (Danganronpa V3)

Kairi (Kingdom Hearts)

Kallen Kouzuki (Code Geass)

Kamala Khan (Marvel Comics)*

Katara (Avatar the Last Airbender)

Katherina Minola (The Taming of the Shrew)*

Katherine Pierce (The Vampire Diaires)*

Konan (Naruto)*

Laurel Lance (Arrow (CW)*

Leia Organa (Star Wars)*

Lisa Cuddy (House MD)

Lucy Heartfilia (Fairy Tail)

Madison Paige (Heavy Rain)*

Malty S Melromarc (Rising of the Shield Hero)*

Margaret Houlihan (MASH (Movie 1970) )*

Marinette Dupain-Cheng (Miraculous Ladybug)

Marwa (What We Do In The Shadows (TV series))*

Megaera (Hades)*

Mikaela Banes (Transformers)*

Mikan Tsumiki (Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair)

Mikoko Sakazaki (Kaiji)*

Mikuru Asahina (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)*

Mildred "Millie" Knolastname (Helluva Boss)

Milla Maxwell (Tales of Xillia)*

Misa Amane (Death Note)

Misaki Unasaka (Buddy Daddies)*

Nami (One Piece)*

Naomi Misora (Death Note)

Natasha Romanoff (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

Natasha Rostova (War and Peace)

Nemu Kurotsuchi (Bleach)*

Nezuko Kamado (Demon Slayer)*

Nya Smith (Lego Ninjago)

Ochette (Octopath Traveler 2)*

Ophelia (Hamlet)*

Ophiuchus Shaina (Saint Seiya)*

Orihime Inoue (Bleach)

Padmé Amidala (Star Wars)

Pussy Galore (Goldeneye)*

Pyrrha Nikos (RWBY)

Quiet (Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain)*

Ran Mouri (Detective Conan)*

Rey (Star Wars)

River Tam (Firefly)*

Sakura Haruno (Naruto)

Sansa Stark (Game of Thrones)*

Skye (Lost in Blue)*

Sonia Hedgehog (Sonic Underground)*

South Dakota (Red vs Blue)*

Stephanie “Steph” Nocanonlastname (EverymanHYBRID)

Susan Pevensie (Chronicles of Narnia)*

Sweet-P (The Caligula Effect)*

Sylvanas Windrunner (Warcraft)*

Sylvia (Two Gentlemen of Verona)*

Teresa (Maze Runner series)*

Throné Anguis (Octopath Traveler 2)*

Yan Hui (Back From the Brink)*

[mariacallous]

Anthropic has scored a major victory in an ongoing legal battle over artificial intelligence models and copyright, one that may reverberate across the dozens of other AI copyright lawsuits winding through the legal system in the United States. A court has determined that it was legal for Anthropic to train its AI tools on copyrighted works, arguing that the behavior is shielded by the “fair use” doctrine, which allows for unauthorized use of copyrighted materials under certain conditions.

“The training use was a fair use,” senior district judge William Alsup wrote in a summary judgment order released late Monday evening. In copyright law, one of the main ways courts determine whether using copyrighted works without permission is fair use is to examine whether the use was “transformative,” which means that it is not a substitute for the original work but rather something new. “The technology at issue was among the most transformative many of us will see in our lifetimes,” Alsup wrote.

“This is the first major ruling in a generative AI copyright case to address fair use in detail,” says Chris Mammen, a managing partner at Womble Bond Dickinson who focuses on intellectual property law. “Judge Alsup found that training an LLM is transformative use—even when there is significant memorization. He specifically rejected the argument that what humans do when reading and memorizing is different in kind from what computers do when training an LLM.”

The case, a class action lawsuit brought by book authors who alleged that Anthropic had violated their copyright by using their works without permission, was first filed in August 2024 in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.

Anthropic is the first artificial intelligence company to win this kind of battle, but the victory comes with a large asterisk attached. While Alsup found that Anthropic’s training was fair use, he ruled that the authors could take Anthropic to trial over pirating their works.

While Anthropic eventually shifted to training on purchased copies of the books, it had nevertheless first collected and maintained an enormous library of pirated materials. “Anthropic downloaded over seven million pirated copies of books, paid nothing, and kept these pirated copies in its library even after deciding it would not use them to train its AI (at all or ever again). Authors argue Anthropic should have paid for these pirated library copies. This order agrees,” Alsup writes.

“We will have a trial on the pirated copies used to create Anthropic’s central library and the resulting damages,” the order concludes.

Anthropic spokesperson Jennifer Martinez told WIRED that the company was pleased with the ruling, as it is "consistent with copyright's purpose in enabling creativity and fostering scientific progress." Lawyers for the plaintiffs declined to comment.

The lawsuit, Bartz v. Anthropic, was first filed less than a year ago; Anthropic asked for summary judgment on the fair use issue in February. It’s notable that Alsup has far more experience with fair use questions than the average federal judge, as he presided over the initial trial in Google v. Oracle, a landmark case about tech and copyright that eventually went before the Supreme Court.

Prior to this, there had only been one summary judgment decision issued in an AI copyright case. In Thomson Reuters v. Ross, a judge found that the AI startup Ross’s training on materials from the Thomson Reuters-owned legal research firm Westlaw was not fair use—but that case is already headed to an appeals court. In almost all of the ongoing copyright lawsuits, the AI company defendants are attempting to lay out “fair use” arguments, so Alsup’s decision will almost certainly play a large role in how these cases are argued going forward, especially cases where piracy isn’t a factor. Fair use advocates are already celebrating this as a win.

“Judge Alsup’s ruling should be a model for other courts assessing whether Gen AI training on copyrighted material is fair use,” says Adam Eisgrau, the senior director of AI, Creativity, and Copyright Policy at the tech trade group Chamber of Progress. “He found it is clearly transformative and affirmed that the purpose of copyright is to promote competition and creativity, not protect monopoly revenue streams.”

Still, this is in many respects a truly split ruling, as Alsup heavily emphasized within the summary judgment that piracy was not legally excusable. “The downloaded pirated copies used to build a central library were not justified by a fair use,” he writes. “Every factor points against fair use.”

During the discovery process of the lawsuit, Judge Alsup learned that Anthropic relied partially on downloading vast amounts of materials from pirated databases like Books3 to amass books to train AI tools like Claude. He offers details into the process in the summary judgment, noting that Anthropic cofounder Ben Mann downloaded the entirety of Books3 back in winter 2021, and didn’t stop there: “Anthropic’s next pirated acquisitions involved downloading distributed, reshared copies of other pirate libraries. In June 2021, Mann downloaded in this way at least five million copies of books from Library Genesis, or LibGen, which he knew had been pirated. And, in July 2022, Anthropic likewise downloaded at least two million copies of books from the Pirate Library Mirror, or PiLiMi, which Anthropic knew had been pirated,” Alsup writes.

Anthropic is not the only AI company accused of piracy in AI copyright lawsuits. In Kadrey v. Meta, another hotly contested copyright lawsuit brought by authors, plaintiffs’ lawyers have forcefully argued that Meta’s acquisition of books from pirate libraries like LibGen was not legal nor shielded by the fair use doctrine.

The lowest statutory damage for this type of copyright infringement is $750 per book, and Alsup notes that Anthropic’s pirate library consisted of at least 7 million books, which means Anthropic faces billions in potential court-imposed penalties. There is no trial date set yet.

[bjorkshire-pudding]

Prior to Shunsui becoming Captain Commander, I would have said I'd like Ichigo to join the Gotei 13, and it mostly has something to do with what Ichigo said to Byakuya during their fight on Soukyoku Hill.

Like @derekscorner mentioned, I can see Ichigo as that Captain/Lieutenant who's constantly bucking the Gotei's traditions and rules. Questioning everything, but not always in a bad way. Yeah, he'd probably be a pain in the ass because of it, but I can't see that in some ways he wouldn't eventually force them to lighten up a little bit, just by virtue of him being that sort of person.

Of course, now that Shunsui is Captain Commander, things would change anyway - Shunsui's smart and capable, and while he's been a Shinigami for a long time, he's a lot more laid back than Yama was when it comes to rules and traditions. So maybe there's no longer a need for an unorthodox "rulebreaker" amongst the Gotei Captains.

Aside from that reason, he's just a capable fighter. He's powerful, and he's always making his power grow while striving to understand it so he can control it better. I think him being able to have that power on earth as a human means he can protect the people he loves quicker if something goes down, but I believe he'd still be really quick to fight on their behalf even if he ended up in Soul Society permanently.

Ultimately, I agree with the idea that Ichigo doesn't really belong in Soul Society. He likes being human, he likes being in the Living World. In the Living World, Ichigo has an identity outside of his powers. I think if he ended up in Soul Society with the Gotei 13, his entire identity would be reduced to being a Shinigami.

I just learned that Ichigo gets paid and the Shinigami didnt bother to even tell him.

[theshipsong]

If neovim is what you want to talk about, then please pick three items from the ask game that you like the most and tell me about it ^_^

(fic writer asks)

this is a can of worms you’ve opened but i choose to understand your self-described tech monkey-ness as you probably know a thing or two already so for my other victims reading!!!:

16. favorite place to write

17. talk about your writing and editing process

i fully realize this ask game probably meant a real world location like a coffee shop or a couch but i am interpreting it as software!!!

vi/vim/neovim are a succession of terminal UI text editors that date back to the 70s. its main feature is probably that it’s modal, meaning you switch between editing/preview/select/other functions with a keyboard command. i write my fic in markdown format, not rich text like in google docs or word, so if i want to italicize text i type asterisks around it *like this* instead of having to select “italic” from a formatting bar or worse, highlighting the text after the fact

ALL THIS MEANS is i can write an entire fic draft without touching a mouse!!! which i know isn’t cool/with these touchscreen times but i have mechanical keyboards and a sexy sexy thinkpad that are a joy to type on, so any opportunity to use them, i will take. neo/vim is also highly customizable with plugins (relevant here is probably a wordcounter), and i use my own colorscheme named after my beautiful girlfriend PERONA:

the other thing about “modal” editing is it is so painless to manipulate text, like move entire 10s of paragraphs up and down a chapter draft without touching a mouse and easily undoing it, which i tend to do if i’m fucking with linear time, seeing what it’d look like starting in media res, etc. in terms of proofreading, i tend to proofread in either the tumblr editor (godless) or in obsidian, viewing the same file in rendered markdown, probably in a serif font.

and THE LAST THING is it’s such a lightweight piece of software that i can use it on any device under the sun. actually. there’s no compromises of folding to what the android app store has available. i have the exact same writing experience on my laptop, desktop, ipad, and if i’m crazy, by attaching a keyboard to my phone.

7. your preferred writing fonts

the other vim thing is because it’s in the terminal, you will be stuck with whatever monospace (hacker-looking) font your terminal emulator uses. now i set this to be either Iosevka or JetBrains Mono (in above screenshot) if i have that freedom, two open source programming fonts with pretty italics and broad language support, but my ipad shell app only lets me use apple’s Menlo, which is…. fine.

this is a similar liberatory resriction to using Times New Roman for academic writing. all the time i would spend fucking around formatting fonts is gone (and instead went into configuring neovim plugins). the serif font i have in obsidian for proofreading rn is Crimson Pro