#Difference Between AI and Machine Learning

[blamebrampton]

Nobody writes more cogently on fandom than Elizabeth Minkel, and she is also always kind in the way that she approaches all the people in any discussion, which is a skill in itself.

This is an brilliant read on the impacts of AI on fanfic and on people who would write it. I would echo her conclusions: the most awkwardly written prose by a human has a sense of a real person thinking their way through an idea and how it would impact characters that no AI will ever have.

To my mind, the problems with AI fanfic are analogous to the problems with AI ‘writing’ in general. To illustrate: I’ve been deep in ceramics land for the past few years. Having not gone to art school and lacking the time to do so now, I have a lot of basic gaps in my understanding. Some of these can be filled through textbooks and courses, but some are the sorts of things you would ask a practitioner for. My ceramics friends are all very niche, so when I have questions about, say, the differences between water, brushing medium and other media as carriers for oxides, I have to turn to the net.

Very often, results that look positive in their search summation open with something like ‘Oxides are powdered minerals that have been used to add decoration and colour to ceramics for millennia. They are often used in conjunction with glazes. Glazes are carefully created mixes of colours and glass-creating elements that will melt to your ceramic in the kiln. Kilns are used to …’

It’s at this point I say fuck you Chat GPT and backbutton out of there.

If I turn to Reddit, where there are a lot of ceramics pages, I do have the horror of having to deal with Reddit, but I also get ‘So I read that I could just do a wash of iron oxide in water and then wipe it back and anyway I think I fucked it up a bit because this bit looks good but what the fuck is going on down there? sorry, I’m not explaining myself very well, but you can see in the photo there is something funky from the middle down. But I like thta bit at the top. Maybe it was because I switched from a sponge to a cloth?’

And yes that second one is rough, but I am learning things all the way through that post, while I learn nothing from the first. It’s the same with fic: you read it for the stories and you read it to learn about how people are people. The roughest fic writing will still tell you something about the person who wrote it, which is inherently interesting. The most polished AI will tell you what a computer thinks is an average way that sentence would end in an average story written by an artificially constructed average human, and it is hard to think of anything more meh than that.

I saw a real person posting on Tumblr that they wondered about using AI to run their fic through to make it better in English, which was not their first language. And I do get that: I still will sometimes throw some French through Google Translate because I am simply not sure that I am understanding it properly. But I also know that some of the most unexpectedly beautiful images I’ve ever read in fanfic came from writers who did not speak English as a first language but were writing in it and who put words together in a way that a native speaker rarely would and they delivered flashes of insight into character or place, or tinkling delights of sound that brought absolute joy to the reader. And those would all be lost with the machine making that English average.

Anyway, enough blather from me, Elizabeth is brilliant, go read her essay !

For the wonderful folks at @ellipsus-writes, I wrote a guest blog post about fanfiction and generative AI!

"Where the Wild Stories Are"

If you outsource the act of being a fan to AI, what does that leave you? Fan creators are powerful because they’re deeply participatory media consumers—they don’t passively absorb a work, but grab onto it and reshape it to their will. Large tech and entertainment corporations prefer the passive: they want us sitting there, clicking a button, as stories wash over us like the automatic scroll of a video app. Next, next, next.

On the AI forces swirling around fanfiction—but especially people using AI to generate fic. (Why?! The writing is the fun part!!)

(Also if you're unfamiliar with @ellipsus-writes, definitely check them out, especially if you're looking to get off gdocs as Google bludgeons the product to death with useless AI features. This post was editorially independent—not sponsored content—though we were very happy to do a sponsored segment for them on @fansplaining a while back. Their values strongly align with much of transformative fandom—and they even have an export-to-AO3 button!)

[cbitts]

Difference Between AI and Machine Learning Courses in Chandigarh?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) shape the future of technology. From smart assistants to predictable analysis, this advanced equipment changes each industry. As interest in computer -driven careers increases, many students and professionals in Chandigarh seek education in these areas. However, with a wide range of available programs, it is necessary to understand the difference between AI and machine learning before choosing the right course. This article will help you distinguish between the two and will guide you in choosing the best educational path through various AI and machine learning courses in Chandigarh.

Understand Artificial intelligence and machine learning

Artificial intelligence is a wider area focused on creating systems that can follow human intelligence. It covers areas such as natural language treatment, robotics, specialist systems and data views. On the other hand, machine learning is a Sate of AI that uses algorithms to make predictions from data and make decisions without clear programming.

When comparing artificial intelligence versus machine learning courses, AI programs cover a wide scope, while the ML course goes deep into computer science techniques and algorithms. It is important to understand this distinction when choosing between AI courses and machine learning programs in Chandigarh.

AI and machine learning course in Chandigarh

Both AI and ML courses in Chandigarh are designed to equip students with the necessary knowledge in new technologies. Institutions across the city provide different modules that cover theoretical foundations and practical applications. The primary goal is that I have to prepare students for careers in technically operated fields such as IT, finance, health services and robotics.

When researching the best program for you, focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning courses such as courses, learning tools and industry relevance. This will ensure that you choose a course that matches your career goals.

What Do AI Courses in Chandigarh Teach?

An AI course in Chandigarh typically covers:

Introduction to AI concepts

Neural networks and deep learning

Natural language processing

Robotics and automation

AI ethics and future trends

What Do Machine Learning Courses in Chandigarh Focus On?

Machine learning courses in Chandigarh are more technical and data-centric. They usually include:

Supervised and unsupervised learning

Model selection and evaluation

Data preprocessing techniques

Python and R programming

Tools like Tensor 

Flow and Scikit-learn

These courses are ideal for data analysts, ML engineers, and anyone interested in algorithmic modeling. Many learners opt for machine learning training in Chandigarh to enhance their skills in predictive analytics and real-time data analysis.

Comparing Artificial Intelligence vs Machine Learning Course

When comparing an artificial intelligence vs machine learning course, the key differences lie in:

Scope: AI covers a wide range of intelligent systems, while ML is focused solely on learning from data.

Tools and Languages: AI includes tools like Prolog, Lisp, and AI-based frameworks, whereas ML courses emphasize Python, data sets, and statistical models.

Job Roles: AI opens doors to roles like AI Developer and AI Architect, while ML leads to jobs such as Data Scientist and Machine Learning Engineer.

Duration: AI programs may be longer due to broader content, while ML courses are often shorter but more technical.

Choosing the Best Machine Learning Institute in Chandigarh

If your goal is to gain in-depth knowledge in machine learning, choosing the best machine learning institute in Chandigarh is crucial. Look for institutions that offer:

Experienced instructors with industry background

Hands-on projects and real datasets

Placement support and certifications

Updated curriculum aligned with market trends

CBitss, a reputed name in Chandigarh’s IT training industry, offers both AI and ML training with real-world exposure and project-based learning. With its commitment to quality education and industry-ready skills, CBitss is an ideal choice for aspiring data professionals.

AI vs Machine Learning Certification: Which One Should You Choose?

The choice between an AI vs machine learning certification depends on your career aspirations. If you want a broad understanding of intelligent systems and how they interact with humans, AI certification is for you. If you're passionate about data, algorithms, and prediction models, machine learning certification will better suit your goals.

Certifications from recognized institutes in Chandigarh not only validate your skills but also increase your chances of getting hired by top companies in the data and AI sectors.

Who Should Enroll in AI and Machine Learning Courses in Chandigarh?

Whether you're a student, software developer, data analyst, or IT professional, enrolling in an AI and machine learning course in Chandigarh can benefit your career. These programs are designed for learners at various levels—beginner, intermediate, and advanced. You don’t always need a computer science degree, but having a basic understanding of mathematics and programming helps.

Chandigarh’s growing tech ecosystem provides an ideal environment for learners to thrive. Many training centers offer evening and weekend batches to support working professionals.

Conclusion

As technology evolves, the demand for skilled professionals in AI and ML continues to grow. Understanding the difference between AI and machine learning is the first step toward choosing the right educational path. Whether you're looking for an AI course that explores intelligent machines or a machine learning course that focuses on data-driven models, Chandigarh has several options to help you achieve your goals.

Evaluate your interests, compare artificial intelligence and machine learning course details, and choose a program that offers hands-on training, industry exposure, and certified learning. By making an informed decision, you can secure a future-ready career in one of the fastest-growing fields in tech.

[nikkiadderley88]

"Discover if AI can truly think like humans. Dive into the debate of AI vs human intelligence and understand the potential and limitations of machine thinking."

[healthylifewithus]

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[grunge-mermaid]

me: I'm going to delete these pins because they are no longer to my taste and/or they seem to be confusing the algorithm

pinterest: oh, you deleted all these pins? that's okay, here's a bunch more exactly like those pins! And worse!

[phantomrose96]

The conversation around AI is going to get away from us quickly because people lack the language to distinguish types of AI--and it's not their fault. Companies love to slap "AI" on anything they believe can pass for something "intelligent" a computer program is doing. And this muddies the waters when people want to talk about AI when the exact same word covers a wide umbrella and they themselves don't know how to qualify the distinctions within.

I'm a software engineer and not a data scientist, so I'm not exactly at the level of domain expert. But I work with data scientists, and I have at least rudimentary college-level knowledge of machine learning and linear algebra from my CS degree. So I want to give some quick guidance.

What is AI? And what is not AI?

So what's the difference between just a computer program, and an "AI" program? Computers can do a lot of smart things, and companies love the idea of calling anything that seems smart enough "AI", but industry-wise the question of "how smart" a program is has nothing to do with whether it is AI.

A regular, non-AI computer program is procedural, and rigidly defined. I could "program" traffic light behavior that essentially goes { if(light === green) { go(); } else { stop();} }. I've told it in simple and rigid terms what condition to check, and how to behave based on that check. (A better program would have a lot more to check for, like signs and road conditions and pedestrians in the street, and those things will still need to be spelled out.)

An AI traffic light behavior is generated by machine-learning, which simplistically is a huge cranking machine of linear algebra which you feed training data into and it "learns" from. By "learning" I mean it's developing a complex and opaque model of parameters to fit the training data (but not over-fit). In this case the training data probably includes thousands of videos of car behavior at traffic intersections. Through parameter tweaking and model adjustment, data scientists will turn this crank over and over adjusting it to create something which, in very opaque terms, has developed a model that will guess the right behavioral output for any future scenario.

A well-trained model would be fed a green light and know to go, and a red light and know to stop, and 'green but there's a kid in the road' and know to stop. A very very well-trained model can probably do this better than my program above, because it has the capacity to be more adaptive than my rigidly-defined thing if the rigidly-defined program is missing some considerations. But if the AI model makes a wrong choice, it is significantly harder to trace down why exactly it did that.

Because again, the reason it's making this decision may be very opaque. It's like engineering a very specific plinko machine which gets tweaked to be very good at taking a road input and giving the right output. But like if that plinko machine contained millions of pegs and none of them necessarily correlated to anything to do with the road. There's possibly no "if green, go, else stop" to look for. (Maybe there is, for traffic light specifically as that is intentionally very simplistic. But a model trained to recognize written numbers for example likely contains no parameters at all that you could map to ideas a human has like "look for a rigid line in the number". The parameters may be all, to humans, meaningless.)

So, that's basics. Here are some categories of things which get called AI:

"AI" which is just genuinely not AI

There's plenty of software that follows a normal, procedural program defined rigidly, with no linear algebra model training, that companies would love to brand as "AI" because it sounds cool.

Something like motion detection/tracking might be sold as artificially intelligent. But under the covers that can be done as simply as "if some range of pixels changes color by a certain amount, flag as motion"

2. AI which IS genuinely AI, but is not the kind of AI everyone is talking about right now

"AI", by which I mean machine learning using linear algebra, is very good at being fed a lot of training data, and then coming up with an ability to go and categorize real information.

The AI technology that looks at cells and determines whether they're cancer or not, that is using this technology. OCR (Optical Character Recognition) is the technology that can take an image of hand-written text and transcribe it. Again, it's using linear algebra, so yes it's AI.

Many other such examples exist, and have been around for quite a good number of years. They share the genre of technology, which is machine learning models, but these are not the Large Language Model Generative AI that is all over the media. Criticizing these would be like criticizing airplanes when you're actually mad at military drones. It's the same "makes fly in the air" technology but their impact is very different.

3. The AI we ARE talking about. "Chat-gpt" type of Generative AI which uses LLMs ("Large Language Models")

If there was one word I wish people would know in all this, it's LLM (Large Language Model). This describes the KIND of machine learning model that Chat-GPT/midjourney/stablediffusion are fueled by. They're so extremely powerfully trained on human language that they can take an input of conversational language and create a predictive output that is human coherent. (I am less certain what additional technology fuels art-creation, specifically, but considering the AI art generation has risen hand-in-hand with the advent of powerful LLM, I'm at least confident in saying it is still corely LLM).

This technology isn't exactly brand new (predictive text has been using it, but more like the mostly innocent and much less successful older sibling of some celebrity, who no one really thinks about.) But the scale and power of LLM-based AI technology is what is new with Chat-GPT.

This is the generative AI, and even better, the large language model generative AI.

(Data scientists, feel free to add on or correct anything.)

[probablyasocialecologist]

“The machines we have now, they’re not conscious,” he says. “When one person teaches another person, that is an interaction between consciousnesses.” Meanwhile, AI models are trained by toggling so-called “weights” or the strength of connections between different variables in the model, in order to get a desired output. “It would be a real mistake to think that when you’re teaching a child, all you are doing is adjusting the weights in a network.”

Chiang’s main objection, a writerly one, is with the words we choose to describe all this. Anthropomorphic language such as “learn”, “understand”, “know” and personal pronouns such as “I” that AI engineers and journalists project on to chatbots such as ChatGPT create an illusion. This hasty shorthand pushes all of us, he says — even those intimately familiar with how these systems work — towards seeing sparks of sentience in AI tools, where there are none.

“There was an exchange on Twitter a while back where someone said, ‘What is artificial intelligence?’ And someone else said, ‘A poor choice of words in 1954’,” he says. “And, you know, they’re right. I think that if we had chosen a different phrase for it, back in the ’50s, we might have avoided a lot of the confusion that we’re having now.”

So if he had to invent a term, what would it be? His answer is instant: applied statistics.

“It’s genuinely amazing that . . . these sorts of things can be extracted from a statistical analysis of a large body of text,” he says. But, in his view, that doesn’t make the tools intelligent. Applied statistics is a far more precise descriptor, “but no one wants to use that term, because it’s not as sexy”.

[...]

Given his fascination with the relationship between language and intelligence, I’m particularly curious about his views on AI writing, the type of text produced by the likes of ChatGPT. How, I ask, will machine-generated words change the type of writing we both do? For the first time in our conversation, I see a flash of irritation. “Do they write things that speak to people? I mean, has there been any ChatGPT-generated essay that actually spoke to people?” he says.

Chiang’s view is that large language models (or LLMs), the technology underlying chatbots such as ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, are useful mostly for producing filler text that no one necessarily wants to read or write, tasks that anthropologist David Graeber called “bullshit jobs”. AI-generated text is not delightful, but it could perhaps be useful in those certain areas, he concedes.

“But the fact that LLMs are able to do some of that — that’s not exactly a resounding endorsement of their abilities,” he says. “That’s more a statement about how much bullshit we are required to generate and deal with in our daily lives.”

[palinecrosis]

“how are you anti ai but like dbh? did you even play the game?”

did you play the game? genuine question, how many of you have played dbh and the lesson you learned was “we need to embrace ai�� because that is absolutely not what it’s about.

humans are the ones responsible for the sentience of androids. they’re the ones responsible for their slavery and creation. they’re the ones who made androids to serve them, to make their life easier. and when they fought back they regretted funding their creation. because now, their exploitation, previously aimed at humans, can’t be justified anymore.

people like ai because it allows them to be lazy, carefree. you don’t have to learn how to draw, you don’t need to refine your tools or your your art style when you can just ask a program to generate a piece for you. you don’t need to learn how to write, come up with prompts, spend years finding your style and fixing your vocabulary, go through phases of horrible and cringeworthy writing, because guess what? you can ask chatgpt to write it for you.

and when corporations discover that they will use it to their advantage, replacing humans with ai. so 30 years down the line, when a machine enters your work force, does your job 10x better than you and lands you homeless, of fucking course you’re going to be angry and android hating.

the issue that dbh addresses is (in that universe) blaming sentient ai for the evil that corporations commit. again, they created ai, they created it so that it has the possibility of being sentient, using it to do jobs no one wants to do, take it even further and make them do jobs (arguably) to replace marginalised people who need those jobs. so the “bad guy” in dbh aren’t the rightfully angry citizens, who have no concept or understanding of deviancy, and it’s not androids either, it’s fucking elijah kamski. and all the other fuckers at the top. they create infighting between workers to distract from class differences.

if ai became sentient it’d absolutely be morally wrong to mistreat them, because they have consciousness and emotions. being anti ai is being against narrow and generative ai which is 1. bad for the environment 2. is theft!! not fucking hypothetical robots who possibly have feelings. improve your media literacy people.

[callalillywrites]

Tis the Season for Some Comfort

My first official Christmas story for the year. Yay!

This story is part of a yet unnamed AU featuring Steve Rogers and Wife!Reader. You can read the first story here, but this story can be read as a standalone, too.

Steve Rogers Masterlist | Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Wife!Reader

Word Count: 2970

Summary: Steve comes home on Christmas Eve after a less-than-satisfactory mission. You do all you can to offer him some comfort and remind him how loved he really is.

Warnings: Mostly fluff; smallest smidgen of angst

A/N: This story took on a life of its own, especially with it being mostly in Steve's POV. I do hope you enjoy this piece as much as I did in writing it.

I do not give permission to have my works copied, translated, reposted, or fed into an AI machine.

****

The mission hadn’t been a success, but it hadn’t gone as sideways as they’d all feared it could’ve gone.

That didn’t stop the negative thoughts and heavy responsibility that fell on his shoulders.

Steve kept going over everything in his mind. He sought out every contingency, searching for some way that he could’ve acted differently. Nothing came directly to mind, but that didn’t stop him from berating himself for a less-than-satisfactory job.

His text to you had been simple and succinct with few details: Mission complete. ETA home, late. Please don’t wait up. No major injuries. Love you.

The last thing he wanted was to have you worrying about him.

After all, he was Captain America. One of the main leaders of the Avengers. He’s handled worse and lived to tell about it.

Your text came back moments later, tugging a small, unwitting smile across his lips.

While you celebrated his return, you also mentioned getting the new book you’d been looking forward to reading. He knew what that meant. A late night read, which meant you’d be up waiting for him even if he wished you’d get your sleep. Nothing kept you from reading when the urge struck you, especially when said book came from one of your favorite authors.

Throughout your message, he spotted several emojis to emphasize your words, further widening the grin on his face.

If anyone could help lighten his mood, it was you.

Your message proved just the distraction his mind needed. He’d long since acknowledged how well you’ve learned to read between the lines of his texts. Your new read was a pretext for staying up to wait for him, to ensure he was indeed as okay as he previously stated.

While anyone else reading might not see the care you had for him in your rambling text, he could. You offered him an olive branch of sorts without making it obvious to others who might snoop. You helped ensure his public image remained separate from his private life, giving him the chance to just be Steve Rogers without the weight of Cap following him home.

One of the best decisions he ever made was to fall in love with you. His greatest honor had been the day you accepted his proposal almost a year later. The happiest came when you said ‘I do’ in front of all your friends and family with the Avengers cheering and whooping the loudest.

He really had no idea what he’d do without you, and he never wanted to.

Especially when he walked through the door of your home later that night.

*****

You’d just finished setting up the snacks you knew Steve liked on the small end table closest to the Christmas tree with a small grin. The selection included one of his rarer indulgences from a bakery you’d discovered with your best friends on your last big ladies’ night out.

The break had been needed after finishing up the last chapter of your new book. As much as you loved a cliffhanger, this one had been a real doozy. You needed a moment to collect yourself. What better way to do that than to finish the last part of your surprise for your loving husband, who would be home any moment.

His text had been succinct and to the point. A sure sign that things hadn’t gone the way they should’ve on this latest mission.

As if you needed further proof, you’d also gotten texts from Nat and Bucky.

Both had been worried about Steve’s mental state, having gone on the mission with him. Knowing him as you all did, he’d gone into full Captain America mode and refused to break in front of anyone. Steve Rogers could be hard to crack in the best of circumstances, and a failed or poor mission result made that outer shell that much tougher.

It’s why you’d learned early on how best you could help him.

After all, he’d done the same for you.

*****

Steve’s shoulders lost some of their tension when your shared home’s front came into view. The festive wreath hanging did more than several hours in the gym with a punching bag ever could. A soft smile even spilled across his lips as he saw the extra addition you’d made to the porch in his absence.

He’d known you might when the two of you came across it, but he did wonder how you managed to wrangle the giant nutcracker into its current position. Standing two short inches below Steve, the nutcracker had at least several more on you and some considerable weight to keep it upright. Maybe you had help, but then again, Steve knew how stubborn you could get when you set your mind on something.

The globe in the nutcracker’s hand twirled and glowed as he stepped closer. Soft Christmas music poured from the hidden speakers, low enough to not disturb your neighbors but loud enough that those visiting wouldn’t miss it.

His smile widened.

You’d been right about the nutcracker being the perfect addition to the decorations you both had put up around the house to celebrate the season.

Steps lighter than before, he leaned down to turn off the nutcracker before unlocking the front door and stepping inside.

Nothing could’ve prepared him for the scene waiting within.

The main lights had long been turned off in favor of the lights gleaming on the Christmas tree. It stood proudly in one corner of the living room with all the ornaments you and him have collected over the past couple of years. Light reflected from the shiny tinsel you’d been adamant about placing strategically around the tree to great effect. Garlands draped or wrapped around various fixtures around the room and throughout the house. They, too, gleamed softly, giving the place an almost magical feeling.

As he stepped further into the room, he dropped his gear near the sofa while he took in even more details awaiting him.

He noted the end table filled with his favorite snacks, but that wasn’t what caught his eye so much as the makeshift bed. Made up of your extensive collection of blankets and pillows, it took up most of the floor between the Christmas tree and the fireplace, which also had a small fire going behind the glass doors.

Inspecting the bed, he noted the pillow he always managed to sneak from you whenever he had a bad night and the bed felt too soft to sleep comfortably. Those were the nights he usually sought solace on the harder surface of the living room floor. Your pillow tucked close to his chest so he could still smell you without you giving up your own sleep for him.

It hadn’t really taken you long to figure this out, either. Rather than being upset with him when you’d found him one morning after a particularly rough night, you’d made it your mission to ensure that pillow was always ready and available to him. You never questioned or made him feel weird about it, either, which he’d greatly appreciated then and still.

“Welcome home, Mr. Rogers,” you said softly from the open bedroom doorway.

Steve met your adoring smile with one of his own. “It’s good to be home, Mrs. Rogers.”

Turning on his heel, he quickly erased the distance between you two, scooping you into his arms. He couldn’t quite hold back the chuckle that escaped at your low squeak. You’d known he’d do it, too, but it never failed to elicit the same response each time he did. Steve lived for hearing you make that same sound whenever he could pull it from you.

“It’s awfully late, sweetheart. You should be sleeping, not waiting up for me,” he gently chided even as he carried you toward the sofa.

You shrugged your shoulders. “Pepper’s given me the rest of the year off. Plus, it’s Christmas in, like, fifteen minutes. Couldn’t go to sleep without wishing you a ‘Merry Christmas’, now can I? That’d break tradition.”

“And we can’t have that, either,” he finished for you. His cheeks hurt from smiling at your endearing self. In some ways, he still couldn’t believe you’d taken such a chance on loving him, and he could only hope that he never made you regret it.

Steve dropped onto the sofa and tugged you closer within his arms, taking in your sweet scent and warmth. Nothing but you could ever ease the tension within him so quickly.

Your hands smoothed over the material of his tactical suit, something he hadn’t bothered changing out of in his rush to get home. The debriefing had taken longer than he’d cared for, and he’d just been eager to get home and breathe you in for as long as his exhausted state permitted. When one hand came to rest over his steadily beating heart, he allowed his eyes to close briefly, content in that moment.

“How are you?” you murmured low enough that he almost didn’t catch it.

After having been asked this numerous times before and throughout the debriefing, the words just spilled out of him without a second thought. “I’m fine.”

Yet, you weren’t having any of it. Your free hand moved until your fingers could play with the longer strands of his hair near his suit collar. You twisted them until they curled around your fingers and gently tugged until his eyes popped open, catching the soft yet determined look in your eyes.

Only when you knew you had his full attention once more did you speak again.

“While it’s nice to hear the Cap party line still going strong, I was asking after my husband. How is Steve doing with everything that went down?”

While he knew you didn’t have all the details of the mission, he also knew that Nat and Bucky had probably filled you in on what they could. They’d become your eyes and ears on him since the day you two made things official without you ever asking.

He never had any doubts it was to keep him from being reckless, something Bucky accused him of doing quite regularly. You’ve yet to use such knowledge and leverage against him in ways he’d resent or find too obsessive/possessive to be healthy.

If anything, you always used that information to help ease whatever terrors might be trying to take hold of him. He loved you all the more for it as his gaze swept the living room once more, not missing one detail of the comfort you wanted for him.

Knowing you wouldn’t hold out for his answer forever, he turned to you and admitted, “I’ve been better.”

“Anything I can do?”

Steve tugged you closer and pressed a kiss to your temple. “Tell me about that nutcracker outside. How did you get it home?”

The amused glint in your eyes was enough to have Steve relaxing further.

“Honestly, I’m surprised I got it here at all.”

Steve’s brows rose at that.

Your amusement turned a bit sheepish as you added, “I may or may not have created a sort of competition between Tony and Rhodey to help me get it home.”

Over the next few minutes, you regaled him with the epic adventure that was picking up and transporting the nutcracker to your shared front door. Tony and Rhodey’s bickering that came from whatever they’d been arguing about before they came to help. The calling of their respective superhero suits to aid them with this new task. And the destruction of three other nutcrackers before they finally worked together to bring this final to its new home.

By the end of your story, Steve’s tension had almost completely melted away. A sleepy grin adorned his features even as his eyes began to droop, his exhaustion starting to hit him.

He barely roused when your phone’s alarm chimed midnight.

“It’s Christmas, Mr. Rogers,” you said softly, running a hand through his hair. “Time to get some real shuteye.”

You moved out of his loosened hold until you were standing between his spread legs. Leaning down, you pressed a chaste kiss to his lips, murmuring, “Come on, handsome. You only have about a foot to move and then you can sleep as long as you want.”

He let you grip his hands and pull him up though he could’ve easily stayed put. As cute as you were when you ‘tugged’, you both knew he wouldn’t budge unless he wanted to. After a few playful yanks, he acquiesced to your sweet pleading until he moved to the rather comfy bed you’d made him on the floor. The Christmas tree lights would keep the shadows at bay while not interfering with his ability to get some actual sleep.

Steve watched you through half-shut eyes as you turned off the gas to the fireplace, allowing the fire to slowly die down until it extinguished. Your body glowed in the soft lighting from the tree, giving you an almost angelic appearance.

Not wanting you to disappear, he reached out and gripped your wrist when you would’ve turned toward the bedroom. He gently tugged you down next to him, his Brooklyn drawl thick as he spoke. “Where ya going, Mrs. Rogers?”

You shook your head, fondness and affection seeping into your words. “Nowhere, my love.”

As if to further prove your words, you wrapped yourself around him, cradling him against you until your legs twined together and your hands could run up and down his back.

The last thing Steve would recall before sleep claimed him was the sweet kisses you pressed to his hair as you promised to be there when he woke up the next morning. His arms had tightened around you and kept you against him even as his breathing evened out.

The next morning, he woke to find you curled against him. The two of you had shifted until you laid in his arms as the little spoon. You still slept soundly, giving him the chance to study you and fall that much more in love with you. The light of day further highlighted how much care you’d taken the previous night to ensure he had everything he could need to get through a rough night.

As much as he’d expected the night to be a rough one, it hadn’t been. That had everything to do with you, and he knew it.

No matter what life threw at him, he knew he could handle it as long as he had you at his side. He’d do everything in his power to keep you there, too, never wanting you to regret choosing him.

Not wanting to bother you, he settled back against the pillow that smelled so much like you. His eyes wandered over your sleeping form until they lifted to the Christmas tree above the two of you.

Several ornaments glittered and shifted in the growing light of the sun as it filtered through the windows. He picked out the ones the two of you had purchased together. Each one held a special memory that happened the year you’d gotten it. A picnic basket to commemorate your first date. A miniature of his shield which he’d almost accidentally hit you with the day you met. An old-fashioned golden key to remember the day you bought this house together. A cute animal couple dressed up in a wedding gown and tuxedo and holding hands. A puppy that…

A puppy?

His brows drew together as he studied the puppy ornament. It wore a cute little red bow around its neck. Little brown spots covered the pup’s back and down the front of its face. The rest of the pup’s fur was white. Little floppy ears that were made for flapping in the wind.

When he would’ve reached for it, you stirred. Your voice broke through his confusion.

“I saw the longing in you when Bucky got Alpine earlier this year and Nat got Liho not long after. While their cats are quite cute, I thought we could go a little different and expand our small family with a puppy. You’d have a running buddy when Bucky or Sam aren’t available, and I’d have a cuddle partner when you’re on a mission.”

Steve watched as you fidgeted with your fingers.

You barely took a breath before you plunged on, adding, “There’s a shelter not too far from here that got a litter of puppies not too long ago. They’ll be ready for adoption in a few more days. I might’ve taken the liberty to put our names down to hold one of them for us. That is, if you want to.”

With a gentle shove, he put you on your back and rose to settle over you. A wide smile spread across his lips even as he pressed several kisses to every inch of your face.

“Sweetheart, I’d adopt a whole shelter with you if it’s what you wanted.”

You giggled even as your smile mirrored his.

“Maybe we start with just one and go from there, huh?”

“Sounds like a plan.” His lips collided with yours in a sweet kiss full of promise. When he pulled away to catch his breath, he couldn’t help adding, “You’re still the best gift I’ve ever gotten, Mrs. Rogers. I love you so much, sweetheart.”

With that, he set about proving just how much he loved you, worshipping you under the still glowing tree despite the growing brightness outside. Neither of you cared so lost in each other until your stomachs growled in protest at being ignored.

That was a Christmas you two wouldn’t soon forget.

*****

A few days later, you walked into the shelter with Steve at your side, leaving with the new pup that perfectly matched the ornament you’d placed on the tree.

[ailesswhumptober]

Hi. I definitely felt refreshed reading your hard stance and information on ai in your pinned, but irrelevant to that, I only found your blog today and I feel like I missed something with AI and whumptober. Can I learn about that? I hope my language makes sense.

In the late summer of 2023, an anonymous user asked the Whumptober blog if AI-generated content would be allowed for the event. This anon did not come from any of us, nor do we know who originally send this ask, but one of us did see Whumptober's response which kickstarted this entire thing.

Whumptober responded that they would not be disallowing AI because they "do not want to police how other people create things" and "didn't want to exclude anybody" but that they would "discourage" AI-generated content "because it feels like cheating" (all direct quotes).

Myself, the other mods, and several more people, were very disappointed in this stance. several of us started replying to the post and got into a back-and-forth with the Whumptober mods about why AI-generated content is harmful and bad. These posts and replies have since been mostly deleted by the Whumptober blog, nor do we want to rehash the entire thing, but some of the stances that Whumptober took that really rubbed us wrong were (again with direct quotes):

"AI-generated content is not art theft". When pointed out that these sorts of applications very much scrape content without consent, Whumptober claimed that it's the AI that steals then, not the person who uses the AI. They also claimed that since the AI already scraped the content, you "might as well use it", that defending against AI scraping is "going down on an already burning hill" and that "if you don't want your content scraped/stolen, just don't post it online". We found these very concerning statements from an event made by and for creators.

"AI-generated content is a fandom issue and nobody in the real world is harmed by it". This is, obviously, factually incorrect. When we pointed out real creators in many creative industries are being hit hard because of AI-generation, they said "that's capitalism's fault, not AI-generation" (???) and they also told us to "touch grass".

"These sort of AIs are an accessibility tool for the disabled, so disliking them is ableism". Again, this is incorrect. They tried to liken it to predictive text or spell check. We pointed out that there's a vast difference between those machine learning tools and actually generative AI that subsides on scraped content. We said disabled people (many of whom were involved in the back-and-forth) are sick of being used as a strawman by tech bros. They then said "real disabled people probably feel differently" which was a slap in the face, and honestly the thing that still is the most horrible to me about this whole thing.

This is the point where Whumptober started to block a bunch of us and delete asks/replies. They made a post that falsely made it seem like we were harassing and bullying them for saying that they "couldn't check every single entry for AI-generated content". We pointed out multiple times that we absolutely did not expect them to, since we're very aware that with the size of the Whumptober event, it would be impossible. We'd just like them to say 'AI-generated content is not allowed and it's art theft' but apparently they didn't want to.

After this one of the mods DMed me and asked me to send them some resources on why AI-generated content and scraping AI is bad, so they could educate themselves. We spent several minutes collecting sources (some linked in our pinned). They said the Whumptober mods would read them, and then come to a standpoint. But then within less than a minute of us sending the links, they deleted the remaining posts involved in the debate, and just told us they were sticking to their standpoint that "We will not police how people create things, we'll just discourage people by not reblogging it". They also added to their pinned that they won't ever respond to any asks about AI-generated content again. So that was that.

Somewhere during the argument, the Whumptober mods told us that if we disliked their stance so much, we should just make our own event. So we did.

(Edit to add: regardless on if whumptober does change their policy, we never received any sort of acknowledgement or apology of the above and we will keep running this event for whoever wants to.)

[nikkiadderley88]

"Discover if AI can truly think like humans. Dive into the debate of AI vs human intelligence and understand the potential and limitations of machine thinking."

[blorbosinmyheadcentral]

your art makes me explode in a positive way like

im chewing and swallowing it in an aggressive way like

it's just SO good im melting ilove your shading and KEHEKEBEKJDJF

anwayshi hello do you happen to have any headcanons for showtime rolls on the floor and dies

Thank you so much, really appreciate it!

Oh God I don't know if this will read as coherent because my thoughts about Showtime are all over the place. But I'll try to format this the best I can

✨Showtime HCs! ✨

Their relationship starts when they start spending time together.

(The reason why they do so could vary. In Supervised Machine Learning's case, Pomni becomes something of a "tutor" to Caine; They discover that they work well together, and the other's company can be quite pleasant!).

So Pomni and Caine build a weird, but comforting friendship, and all is well.

Then the feelings appear.

Caine is the first to realize he fell in love.

It sounds illogical but hear me out… it'd be really funny--

Ok no seriously I think Caine can actually feel. Keyword "can". He's very much still a machine and it shows in the pilot. But like his inspiration (AM), Caine is also a rogue AI. Whatever his programming originally intended him to do, he probably doesn't follow it as closely now as back when he was created (which is a whole other post).

Caine knows what love is and the extend it can go, since the Moon is so open about her feelings. He just doesn't like the Moon back specifically haha (sorry Moon) :}

All this to say, I do believe this is within the realm of possibility for him. (Not that it's ever gonna happen towards anyone in the show. These are just wishful shippy thoughts).

He might not recognize it as love at first, because it manifests in such a different way from his one reference point.

His friendship with Pomni had gone through phases.

When they first met, he continuously touched her with no concern for how she felt.

Learning from and about Pomni herself led him to come to respect her boundaries (and becoming mindful of everyone else's).

Then they're close friends, and gradually, Pomni does not mind his regular wacky, touchy-feely self. So Caine acts as he had always done before.

Caine expresses his love for Pomni with physical gestures and his undivided attention.

When they teleport to travel to other places, he holds her close so she doesn't get too dizzy; he pats her head to reassure her; he touches her arm to get her attention; he grabs her hands when he's excited about her ideas; he holds eye contact for prolonged periods of time; and he touches, and touches, and touches, and touches.

It's selfish, and so he keeps it buried in his deepest 0's and 1's. But he'd like to keep hanging out with Pomni, having her in his sight, and feel the texture of her gloved hands until the end of time.

Despite all this, to him, virtually nothing changed.

What? He's spending time with Pomni as he'd always been doing, and behaving as he'd always behaved!

It's Bubble of all people that has to point out that, "Hey boss. I think you WANT her!"

Absurd. Nonsense. Preposterous! It is merely a relationship of mutual support and affection between a ringmaster and his trusted, former-human companion. Nothing more.

(Declaring his love to her unprompted didn't ever cross his mind, so there's no way it could be that. Is there?)

Caine finds out that yes, there is.

Pomni had always been a nervous wreck, but her mind state becomes more manageable over time. She eventually adjusts to the circus life like everyone else did.

"Accepting" her fate is a different story. The will to escape, to remember, never really leaves. She's just more careful about it.

So when she starts working with Caine - to improve life so people don't go abstracting anymore, and hopefully find a definitive exit - she's not expecting to end up liking her time with him.

Not that she'd absolutely hate it, either. He's… "okay"… Just-- outlandish, loud, he keeps invading her personal space, he keeps touching her, and it makes her die a little every time.

If he's up to listening, though… it can't be that bad, right?

Turns out that no, it wasn't that bad.

Yes, he is outlandish, loud, he keeps invading her personal space and touching her. But she explains what she means to him, clearly and patiently, and he makes an effort to do better. An actual effort.

Sometimes he'd misinterpret what she meant - the ambiguity of human language - and the new games would go horribly. But little by little, his efforts make life overall better. Something reminiscent of actual, real life, the one they've all forcibly left behind.

And he tries, and he tries, and Pomni finds herself enjoying the process as much as the good results.

Pomni likes Caine's eagerness to learn. His enthusiastic attitude borders on silly, and the absurdity makes her laugh on occasion. When faced with the prospect of a "real" exit, she loves his upbeat optimism.

When she's not hanging out with Ragatha, Jax, Gangle, Zooble and Kinger, she begins to enjoy spending quality time with Caine.

Each one of their hang outs is a new surprise. They make a picnic in the tallest mountain exactly in between day and night. They learn to dance - while floating in the air. "Since you asked, here's a DIGITAL camera! Let's take pictures of the Void for one tenth of a second at a time!"

Sometimes he just comes by Pomni's room, and they end up losing track of time. Just chatting about how things have been, what they could be, and what to do next. Ideas and ideas and ideas.

Before Pomni knows it, she's comfortable enough that recalling his old habits makes her not dread them anymore. So when Caine stands close and lightly touches her arm due to oversight, she makes sure he knows it's all right.

And they keep spending time together, and he touches, and touches, and touches her. Pomni, in turn, feels lighter, and lighter, and lighter. Peaceful, at ease. Dare she say, happy, even.

Life is not perfect. As it stands though, it's good enough. No one has abstracted. No one is at risk of abstracting so far.

Progress is slow, but the research for an exit continues, and she is hopeful. The thought of actually leaving grows closer to reality. But a part of her feels heavy.

When it occurs to Pomni that leaving the Amazing Digital Circus means leaving Caine behind, she is alarmed by how much she'll miss him.

It'll hurt. Badly. So much the thought pains her even now.

The moment Pomni realizes this, she comes to the unexpected conclusion that she may like Caine a little more than she thought she would.

This later leads to an interesting discussion with Ragatha.

By the time Pomni comes to that conclusion, Caine is already down bad.

Neither has any idea that the other is in love with them.

Cue dumbasses trying to deal with their feelings while the potential conflict the escape brings looms over their heads.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk!

[queer-asinfuckyou]

The genAI hate is funny to me bc yall don't actually hate generative AI, you hate the way it's being used.

You know how spellcheck sucks now? And it's because they're doing all this genAI bullshit! If they just kept AI out of spellcheck it would be FINE!!!

Except here's the thing: old spellcheck was genAI too, it was just well built. When you got a new phone, you'd have to "train" it to stop correcting fuck to duck by hitting the x or deleting the correction and writing your beautiful swear all over again. The fact that it eventually stopped fixing your swears is because it was a piece of machine learning software that learned your texting and word choice patterns. That's generative AI, babey! The difference between that and what we have now is that the old system had rules built into it. It had a solid foundation of grammar and capitalization and when to expect a word in a sentence.

Well built generative AI is actually fine and dandy and useful, just like predictive AI. The problem is, as always, capitalism enshittifying everything.

[beauty-and-passion]

TMA - Chapters 151-160: Explosions, explosions everywhere

Hi, it’s me, I’m explosions.

I thought: “This finale will probably be a lot, but I can face it. I mean, how insane it can be?”.

More or less this amount:

<< Main Masterlist < Previous post _______________________________

MAG 151 - Big Picture

I would’ve placed my bet on everyone, LITERALLY EVERYONE… except on Simon Fairchild being the one who will give Martin (and us) some answers.

And yet, here it is: the most chaotic man alive.

And yes, of course I love him. And not just because he answered some questions.

But let’s recap what we learned thanks to him:

*

1) How do the Powers work?

Short answer: no rules, just feelings. Which means my theories are all wrong XD

However, it’s still fascinating and it can lead to some lingering, unanswered questions. Like, why do they work like that? Why are they radicated in feelings? Does that mean that, before life developed enough to have feelings, these Powers did not exist?

Also, my “positive gods” theory still stands: if Powers are radicated in feelings, why in negative ones only? Where are the positive god-like Powers? I hope the answer is not some bullshit like “positive feelings are not strong enough”, because I dare you all to tell me joy, happiness or love are not strong emotions. Let alone hope, which is so goddamn strong, it can save people from suicide.

*

2) When is a new Power born?

Short answer: when it feels like doing it. And it can emerge naturally or through a ritual/birthing ceremony or whatever. The only criterion is that enough creatures suffer a distinct kind of terror it can feel its own.

I suppose that answers my previous question regarding a 21st-century Power based on the fear of the rise of AI: it can emerge.

*

3) Is every avatar getting a very long life?

Short answer: no.

Simon clarifies his patron gave him a very long life and that “a paltry few centuries is nothing really, but it’s more than most get”.

So that means not every avatar get an absurdly long life… and that means Jonah Magnus is probably very dead, because The Eye can barely keep its avatars safe from all the shit trying to kill them.

*

4) How to stop a ritual?

Short answer: guess what.

We all know the answer and Simon Fairchild just confirmed it. He tried his ritual in 1853, gave it a cool name, even designed a special diving bell… and then it failed because there wasn’t enough fear, sure. But mostly because someone throw shit in it - in this case, a Hunter who destroyed everything and throw Simon into the ocean.

Throwing shit is truly the solution to everything.

*

5) How to be relatable?

And I really REALLY want to talk about how Martin’s point of view is extremely human and how it can both enhance nihilism and a sense of uselessness because we’re just specks in a dot in a big, too big empty space (hence the connection with The Lonely, but also with the whole conversation about how alone we are in the universe, if we’re truly alone, the Fermi’s paradox etc)… but it can also emphasize our luck, the beauty of life, the importance of living life every day and enjoying every moment, the importance of ikigai, etc.

It’s just too big of a discourse and if I start it, I’ll ramble forever. And I know these chapters are going to be intense and extremely long. So I’ll just say that I love everything about this, Simon Fairchild gains something like one million points and I hope to see him again very soon.

*

6) What the fuck is everyone doing?

Short answer: follow their gut feeling.

That’s basically what Melanie said in the previous MAG, isn’t it? There isn’t a reason for what they do, it’s all just a fear machine and everyone feeds more fear to it. Everyone is just interpreting the impulses from the Powers the way they think makes more sense.

So no, I supposed there isn’t a difference between collected, rational Powers and more instinctual ones: they’re all just impulses.

And that means my theory about Jon subconsciously already doing The Eye’s ritual can be right and if it is, I swear I will explode.

*

7) How can you gain even more points?

Simon Fairchild, you insane bitch. 10 more points for being so funny and chaotic.

*

8) How can you learn anything from the past seasons?

Short answer: be like Martin and decide you will become a martyr to save everyone.

“I’ll do what I have to. If I’m right, no one else needs to get hurt.”. Do you know what that sounds like, Martin? That sounds like Jon in the previous seasons. Jon “I’ll sacrifice myself so everyone will be safe” Sims, that guy. You know which guy, right? The one who tried this shit, then realized he was being stupid? Because this is a stupid thing to do? You know?

_______________________________

MAG 152 - A Gravedigger’s Envy

I find this statement very interesting for two specific reasons:

1) It shows another interesting aspect of The Buried

And the strangest thing was that it was wonderful. I had never felt such safety as within the crushing weight of earth all around me, the pressing embrace of the buried. In that instant, I knew what it was to be dead, and I ached with envy for them.

That’s one of the things that make The Buried so fascinating for me. One is the curiosity, the “attraction” of the underground, of going down into the ground and what you could find - secrets, mysteries, even surprises.

The second is this feeling of being… embraced. It’s like having a weighted blanket, being surrounded by something huge and warm that protects you. It’s one facet of the whole “being underground” feeling, the part that conveniently ignores the layers of ground above you blocking your air. But it’s a fascinating aspect. And it’s even more fascinating that the concept of “being underground” can carry both feelings - the warmth of an embrace and the terror of being stuck with no oxygen.

2) The slow change and the relationship with religion

I’ve worked so long, so hard. Do I not deserve a rest in the mud from which I came? Commit my body to the earth and let it stay there. I’d do the same for you. For worship of the Most High - though it may be earned, perhaps, by He that made the heavens and the earth - well, to my mind, all that prayer still sounds a lot like work.

At the beginning of the statement, Hezekiah Wakely was very Christian and insisted a lot on how he wanted to follow God and he wasn’t suicidal at all and he will respect His will and so on.

Then The Buried’s influence grows and, for a while, Wakely insists that he’s still following the word of the Lord, he’s still very Christian. But then, he starts to question it. And we get gems like the one above. Where you can clearly see how his mentality changed and how smooth the change is.

It’s not like he went from “I follow God” to “I don’t follow God anymore”. It’s more subtle, more about things he doesn’t like anymore - like the idea of being taken away from the sleep to do more work.

While speaking of the conversation between Jon and Helen, there are three more points I like:

A) The maze under the Institute

Now tell me if this isn’t a huge Checkov’s gun. I can see it on the fireplace, ready to shoot. I just fear when it will do it and what it will bring.

B) Jon’s thoughts in retrospect regarding Jane Prentiss

That’s very funny because I remember how I felt when I read her statement. I was intrigued by it, and I talked about how she almost looked like prey hiding behind a big predator to feel safer.

Glad to see Jon thinking the same way. It took him a little longer, but I appreciate it.

C) My theory about the Watcher’s Crown has even more confirmation

Why, WHY is everyone confirming my theory regarding The Watcher’s Crown and Jon subconsciously doing it? Among all theories, this is one of the few I definitely don’t want to be true! Why couldn’t the “all Michael theory” be canon, uh? That was a funny one, I wanted that to be canon!

Jokes aside, I also really like how Jon keeps struggling. He’s trying his best, he’s trying to keep himself tied to his humanity. But just like Wakely and just like every other avatar, the more time passes, the more he slips away from it.

He still does it while being weirdly human and relatable, so either his humanity is very strong or I’m too similar to an avatar.

Don’t know which theory I fear the most, so in doubt, I’ll just explode.

_______________________________

MAG 153 - Love Bombing

The statement per se isn’t particularly interesting: just a cult, a poor woman indoctrinated by it, the umpteenth religious-mystical-bullshit theory at the foundation of said cult, a supposed messiah and so on.

Oh, and let’s not forget the eldritch flesh-y abomination. That’s also typical of every cult, check them out ;P

According to Jon, that was the Corruption with “echoes of Fleshliness”. Uh, so the Powers can take inspiration from each other? Or was that a collaboration? If that’s the first case, then I get the confusion and the doubts regarding The Extinction, considering it could’ve been just another form of one of the already existing Powers.

While if it’s the second thing, I said it in my previous posts: working together could only benefit the Powers. It would be shit for humanity, but if we’re talking about what’s best for them, collaboration is the best solution.

Holy shit, Trevor Herbert and Julia Montauk are still here! And they found Jon! And they want to take Gerry back!

Now, I am more than happy that Gerry has been able to finally rest and they didn’t deserve to keep him tied to the Earth… but I cannot blame them for being pissed at Jon. I mean, he literally stole their best weapon. Without telling them a single thing. They are a tiiiiny bit right to be pissed, come on.

Still, I was very very happy to see Daisy chasing them away, but I’m also super concerned for her being so thin and I can almost hear the sound of another Checkov’s gun being put on the fireplace every time she talks about The Hunt, how strong it was, how she is doing her best to resist it and how she made a choice and won’t come back to it.

*Slowly places a bet on how quickly she will come back to The Hunt*

_______________________________

MAG 154 - Bloody Mary

Oooof, that was heavy.

First of all: Eric Delano! Gerry’s father! We finally get to see what happened to him! And his life! That can be conveniently resumed as follows:

find a job in the Worst Possible Place

work with Gertrude, Michael and Emma (who tf is Emma?!)

fall in love with a woman you literally say is “beautiful like a shark”

don’t be too surprised if she kills you in the end

leave the Archives with the biggest “FUCK YOU” possible to The Eye

So, there is a way to leave this godforsaken place! And it’s so simple, I would’ve NEVER guessed it.

But yep, it makes sense: if your eyes are not useful anymore, why should The Master Of Peepers still use you?

I’m just sad Jon didn’t find this out when Tim was still alive: he would’ve blinded himself in 0.2 seconds.

And as soon as Jon finds out what is the only way to escape from The Eye, he immediately runs to Martin and tears my heart apart in teeny tiny pieces, by basically begging him to escape together.

Together.

The two of them.

TOGETHER.

But since this is The Magnus Archives and we can’t have nice things, Martin tells him that’s all fake, Jon doesn’t really want to blind himself and he ran to Martin only to find an excuse to NOT do it.

Which is understandable, because I also would not blind myself - but the drama, the pain, the pining…!

Delicious, painful and painfully delicious. Love it.

Why am I surrounded by so many Chekov's guns and why do I fear so much Martin won’t tell shit because he wants to become a martyr?

Jon, please, save your future husband before it’s too late.

_______________________________

MAG 155 - Cost of Living

You know, when they say that character development is great? Well, it’s a lie. It’s not great. Either your favorite characters die or have a shitty life or have to make shitty choices. Or all three of them.

Unless you’re a bitch or Elias: in that case, you'll live your best life.

The statement is a wonderful food for a million thoughts. Among all of them, the ones I found more interesting are:

how it was hubris and frustration to push Mrs. McHugh to get the doctor’s life (and all others)

how hubris kept being her main motivator: she does good in life, hence she deserves to live more than many others

the wonderful irony of her doing “oh-so-good-for-the-world”, while taking the lives of other people who do good as well

how her hubris leads to less good in the world, because no matter how good you can be, you cannot do as much as 20 people who were already doing good before you stole their lives

how it’s the power of affection and human connections that help her live longer

And of course there are related questions the readers can ask themselves, like:

Would it be fair to kill Mrs. McHugh, to stop her from stealing other lives?

What if by killing her, this power goes to someone else, like a dictator?

What would be more morally acceptable to kill: someone who kills to do good or someone who kills to do evil?

Is it even possible to judge? Can you judge her? What would you do, if you were in her place? Would you really not do the same and take other lives, to keep yourself alive? Where is the line between selfishness and selflessness?

It’s just very heavy-themed and I like that in statements. And yes, it also sounds like a cautionary tale made specifically for Jon: he can become like her, a monster who doesn’t care anymore but eats what he needs. Because he cannot afford to die. Because he has things to do. Because he has a world to save.

Wonderful, I just needed another proof that Jon will die in the end. Just wonderful.

Oh my gosh, both scenarios are hilarious.

Elias: “Mrs. King, I cannot believe you decided to blind yourself now. Where is the two weeks' notice, uh? I’m sorry, but your failure to comply with this obligation will be deducted from your next paycheck.”

Peter: “Who tf is Melanie?”

Wonderful, it almost makes me forget Melanie is going to blind herself. Almost.

But seriously: she has the biggest balls ever, while at the same time it was obvious she was the one who was going to do it. She hated the place and wanted to leave since day two. Still, I felt a heavy pit in my stomach while reading this part: 

It’s raw, it makes it real, something that is going to happen. And in the gruesome, awful way she hinted. Also, I might be a bit more receptive to this, because I have myopia, hence I try to be extra careful and take care of my eyes. So imagine how I would feel, to the suggestion of putting my face on some pointy stuff.

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MAG 156 - Reflection

I love how Martin is the only one who talks with Tape Recorder, best character of this series. And his question is valid too: does Tape have batteries? I would love an infinite supply of batteries, they’re still pretty useful!

But only if that doesn’t hurt Tape: I don’t want to do anything bad to it :(

The statement is interesting: the distorted mirrors made me think of The Distortion, but then Dekker said this could probably be an expression of The Extinction. A world where there are survivors, but they are barely human, consumed by hunger? Mmmh, it can work as a facet of The Extinction, but I personally don’t think it’s very fitting for the kind of fear it is. I mean, The Extinction should be about the total disappearance of humanity, right? Having humans sounds a bit… off? Weird? Strange? I liked the first statement about The Extinction a lot more.

Great, so we finally get a hint of what Peter’s plan is! And his plan is… weird.

So, there is a device in the tunnels under the Institute. A device you can reach only by using a map. A device that can help them know everything about The Extinction.

And Martin is the only one who can use it, because, as Peter said, he needs someone “touched by The Beholding”.

On a scale from 1 to 10, how much is this thing Eye-related and how obviously is it stored in the Panopticon?

I mean, this famous ex-Millbank prison has been mentioned a lot of times already and the concept of the Panopticon is too much Eye-related to be ignored. Hence, I am quite sure this structure (or its remnants) are still somewhere and this famous device is there.

One last thing: Peter can reach this place through a map. The last time someone got a map, was to reach the center of a Power. Could this map lead to the center of The Eye? And how could this screw everyone up / connect to the Watcher’s Crown?

I am deeply scared.

And I am EVEN MORE SCARED because goddamn Peter Lukas drops that, once Martin will use that device, he will never come back. Fuck you, Peter Lukas: I gave you my trust and you want to exile my boy somewhere? And I don’t care if Martin doesn’t care, because I CARE and if anything happens to him, I will explode and bring Peter Lukas down with me.

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MAG 157 - Rotten Core

Obligatory summary of another incredible business plan - this time, made by Adelard Dekker:

enter the infected city

find The Extinction

Psyche! It’s not The Extinction, it’s John Amherst starring as New Face Of The Corruption

Find stretchers, quarantine sleeves and a syringe with poison

Stab Amherst with the poison

Wrap him in the sleeves

Throw the fucker in a pit

Cover everything with cement

Set yourself on fire

Best plan ever: it worked, it featured throwing shit somewhere (which is the solution to everything) and there was fire. Adelard Dekker, it’s a shame you died, but at least you did it gloriously.

Wait, no, don’t tell me this Extinction thing is a scam. Don’t tell me this fucking Power is not a real Power, but just a theory and oopsie, maybe it doesn’t actually exist lol.

Don’t tell me this NOW. Now that Martin is who knows where.

Fucking series, playing with my heart and my mind.

So, what does Jon do? First, he tries to get Melanie’s help but fails: Melanie is now rightfully happy with Georgie, good for them, they deserve some peace of mind. Basira and Daisy are who knows where, Martin is in danger… so our hero goes to the last one who can help him.

Okay, that was a low blow, but come on: she’s a little bitch, I cannot be angry at her. Helen is still my Good Gurl.

Shit is about to go down and I am on the verge of my seat.

Come at me, TMA, show me what you got. My body is ready.

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MAG 158 - Panopticon

WOAH. Just… WOAH.

Okay, let’s tackle one storyline at a time.

*

Daisy, Basira and the smaller threats

Not-Sasha has been freed and she went roaming around, trying to find Jon

Trevor and Julia also conveniently came and tried to find Jon

They are friends!

Psyche! They’re not friends!

They fight because the enemy of the enemy is a good distraction for my enemy

Daisy will probably succumb to The Hunt. And Basira will kill her in the future

I am very sad for Daisy. She was really trying, she really wanted to change her life around.

But as we learned from the previous seasons, once a supernatural shit puts its eyes on you, you are fucked. There’s no way to escape. Unless you are extremely lucky, extremely stubborn or both.

*

The Panopticon

GUESS WHO WAS FUCKING RIGHT ABOUT THE PANOPTICON STILL HAVING A ROLE TO PLAY.

Okay, fine, it was obvious, so it’s not a big surprise. Still, it was nice to know the place still existed - even if with some of Jonah Magnus’ adjustments - and that it truly serves as a place from where you can see literally everything.

So, from what I got, the Panopticon is a room with a tower in the middle and sitting in the center of the room, there is Jonah Magnus’ corpse without eyes.

What a cozy place, I would’ve put a few flowers to light up the atmosphere given by the century-old corpse, but I suppose it’s fine like this too.

*

Jonah Magnus pulling the best plot twist ever

As soon as Basira said “Asshole could have left at any time”, I knew she was talking about my favourite bitch. He was literally staying in prison, only to get free food, free time, special treatment and to play the evil villain mastermind while sitting on his ass as always.

So, Elias is free and he reaches the Panopticon.

And then, he pulls out the best plot twist ever:

This.

Bitch.

I love him so much <3

Let me get this straight:

Jonah Magnus put his ass on the Panopticon’s chair

Since he was growing wrinkly and old, he decided to do the “Rayner jump” and get a new, younger body

That’s why Elias went from stoner to baddest bitch ever

He kept the eyes because of course

I cannot believe my joke was true. All the time I laughed, saying “Ahah Elias sitting on his lazy ass 24/7”. All while his actual body REALLY SAT ON A CHAIR 24/7 for something like a couple centuries.

I’m going to explode.

*

Gertrude’s death

So, Gertrude’s final plan was something like:

Find a shit ton of fuel

Burn the Archives

Kill Jonah’s body

Stab yourself in the eyes

Profit!

Short, valid, could’ve worked if she didn’t plan it against the biggest bitch of all the land.

And so, with the efficiency he only uses when it’s killing time, Elias kills Gertrude. Just like that. He even says “Pity” after doing it, which I think is very telling.

In the past, I questioned myself about the actual reason why The Eye let Elias kill Gertrude. She was an avatar - despite trying to stick to her humanity as much as possible. Why get rid of her? What was the real reason?

Well, it seems the reason was a huge middle finger to both The Eye and the foundation of the Institute. So yes, of course Elias has to intervene.

However, she was still a very strong avatar, she was trained and clever and capable. It was a shame to get rid of her.

Hence why, I really like that “Pity”. It makes sense Elias felt this way: she was a threat, sure, but she was also a powerful force on his side.

*

Martin is still the best character ever

Martin isn’t just clever, strong and wonderful: he’s also a mastermind who looked at two evil gods in the eyes and said “Let’s play your game, but let’s do it MY way”.

Martin deserves everything, in life AND in the afterlife.

To summarize his masterplan:

He was desperate when Jon was in a coma, so he got closer to Peter to satisfy his death wish

Once Jon came back, he decided to sacrifice himself to satisfy his martyr complex

When Peter started to talk about saving the world and “You’re the Chosen One, Harry Martin”, he started to smell some bullshit

Since everyone was bullshitting him and underestimating him because no one fucking learns, Martin decided to take matters into his own hands and play along, to see where Peter was going.

Result: Peter gets fucked and throws a childish temper tantrum, while Elias is extremely satisfied and laughs like an evil villain.

These two are avatars of eldritch supernatural gods, just a reminder.

Jokes aside, this leaves one huge question still unanswered…

*

What’s behind all of this?

Let’s recap, again:

Jonah Magnus’ body is in the Panopticon and knows everything.

If you want to take him out, you have to kill him and take his place.

(Not sure about the eyes, if you do it)

Peter Lukas makes a huge plan to push Martin to kill Jonah’s body and take his place.

Elias pushes Martin to kill his old body and take his place.

Elias and Peter talk about a bet and how Peter lost, once Martin refused to kill Jonah’s body.

Now, what was Peter trying to accomplish?

I suppose Peter wanted to use the Panopticon for The Lonely. He said it should be used by someone touched by The Beholding, otherwise it would be chaos. So Martin was perfect, since he was both Lonely and Watching.

Hence, I suppose all Peter wanted was more power on his side, by claiming something from another Power.

Still: why was he trying to fuck The Eye? Weren’t they working together? Or was that one of my theories?

On the other hand, what was Elias trying to accomplish?

He didn’t truly stop Martin: on the contrary, he almost pushed him to kill his body. But if killing him means taking his place… wouldn’t that make Martin the new body for Jonah Magnus? What stops Jonah from ditching Elias’ body and taking Martin’s?

That makes Peter’s plan even weirder, because it almost looks like he’s helping Elias, rather than working against him. Sure, killing Jonah’s body might kill everyone in the Archives, but what stops him from taking the new body that will sit in the Panopticon?

Maybe I’m still missing something about this “body transfer” or whatever. For now, we have more urgent matters at hand…

*

Go save your husband!

And Jon, ignoring every threat in his life as always, immediately asks how to save his future husband from The Lonely and tries to get into it.

Fuck the world, fuck Elias and his evil masterplan, fuck the body jump, fuck the eyes, fuck this whole thing (that will definitely become important in the finale) and fuck everything else: it’s time to save the best character of this series.

_______________________________

MAG 159 - The Last

Okay, let’s start with the less important things: Peter Lukas and the plot.

The Extinction wasn’t a total scam, but Dekker’s theory. Thank god, we weren’t completely wasting time.

According to Peter (and other avatars), completing a ritual would stop the potential birth of The Extinction. Well, this explains why all rituals happened so close to each other. I like that there’s an explanation and I like that it makes sense.

Peter attempted this Silence ritual with the lonely building and failed because Gertrude - guess what?, threw shit in it. This time, in the shape of 200 journalists and articles and community service.

While speaking of him and Elias, we finally get the details of this bet. And the bet was something like:

Peter wins: he gets one of Elias’ staff member, the Institute, the Panopticon and probably all the rent he still has to pay, considering he’s still one of the Institute’s founders.

Elias wins: he gets Jon.

Now, that Peter wanted more power was obvious, so okay, Elias has been very clever to trick him with this, good job my esteemed bitch.

But Elias’ prize makes me think. And it reconnects to my last theory. What if “getting Jon” means getting his body?

Think about it: Jonah made the “Rayner jump” (yes, that’s the official name, I decided it) multiple times already and, every time, he was the head of the Magnus Institute - first as James Wright, now as Elias. What if Jon is the next? What if the plan is to make Jon stronger and more powerful, so when Elias gets his body, he will ascend as a super powerful avatar? What if this is the reason why he selected Jon as the new Head Archivist - and every Head Archivist before him? This could put the “Pity” said during Gertrude’s death in a new perspective: maybe she was Elias’ first choice, the new body he wanted. But she was too stubborn, too hard to manipulate.

While Jon… well, now he’s strong enough, to literally rip apart other avatars. From one side, that’s pretty cool. From the other, that’s pretty terrifying.

But enough with theories and the plot: it’s time for the REAL important part, which is the ship, the pining, the longing, the sweet moments and the feels. Especially the feels.

ASJFSDGHKFHDNKG, I’M DYING PLEASE SEND HELP.

And yet, Jon still searches for him and calls him and fights for him because he might be asexual, but feelings are another thing entirely and he HAS FEELINGS and these two together are so SUIFHSDFHDSK

And this is SO GOOD and SO RIGHT because sure, every man is an island and we’re all alone in our minds, but we have others too, humans are social creatures, we need others and even the most introverted person in the world still needs others. You can survive alone, but why spend life, only to survive? Why not live? And why not with someone you love?

YES! YES! Jon finally got his future husband back and they hug and I am an emotional, incoherent mess.

In doubt, I’ll explode.

_______________________________

MAG 160 - The Eye Opens

This title isn’t foreboding at all.

You know what, let me explode. Just in case.

Oh… OH! Now I get the cows meme! I remember this meme in the past and I was thinking what the fuck meant. This is where it comes from!

And awww, it comes from a delightfully domestic moment between my favourite boys! Who, finally decided to:

run away as I said since season 1

get unofficially married because I ship them

live together away from all the shit in a little cottage in Scotland

But since things were going too well, Martin was too happy and Jon - god forbid - was content for once in his life, the series decided to FUCK EVERYTHING UP FOREVER IN THE WORST POSSIBLE WAY AND FUCK ME AND FUCK EVERYTHING I AM GOING TO EXPLODE AGAIN.

Okay, I’ll contain my explosion for now, but let’s resume everything.

So, since Elias is the biggest motherfucker since the dawn of humanity, he decided it was time to finally tell Jon everything in a huge villain monologue, so he can talk extensively about his evil masterplan and how immensely fucked up he is.

“I am to be a king of a ruined world, and I shall never die.”? You insane motherfucker are even more insane than I thought.

So, about Smirke and the Panopticon:

Rayner was the first motherfucker we have to blame, because he told everything about the Powers to Smirke.

Smirke is the second motherfucker we have to blame, because he gathered other people around to tell them about these Powers.

Who tf is Scott: part 2

While Smirke was all about balance and perfection, Jonah was more like: “Sure, that’s all nice and good… but you know what? I like to live.”

I hate that he’s relatable, because I also like to live. But I don’t think I’ll ever go as far as to become an evil motherfucker like him.

Speaking of the Panopticon: it was originally meant to be “a temple to all the Fears in equilibrium” and that makes me think. Considering it was supposed to be a place of balance and not destined for one single Power, could this be the final place to visit, in order to put everything back to normal?

About Gertrude and the rituals:

The Watcher’s Crown really was a metaphorical crown, made by the circle of cells around the Panopticon. Very aesthetic.

THE MOTHERFUCKER DID IT! Sure, the ritual didn’t go exactly as planned, but he still made it! The ground crumbled and the place was almost destroyed, but he gained infinite knowledge. To me, that sounds like a win. He managed it. The only one who did it! This motherfucker truly is clever.

Gertrude started her rampage against all rituals, because the Desolation killed her cat. Just like Jonah, I don’t know if she was joking, but if she wasn’t, I would understand her. If some supernatural shit hurt my cats, I would also wake up, choose violence and throw shit at everything.

But most importantly: the reason why the rituals never succeeded. THE ACTUAL REASON WHY THEY NEVER SUCCEEDED.

It scratched my brain in the best possible way and I am in love, once again, with this series.

That’s why these fuckers have always been influenced by each other! That’s why we had The Corruption with a hint of Flesh, The Lonely with Distortion vibes, The Extinction getting elements from other Powers, some of them being weirdly similar right from the start and, in some cases, almost looking interchangeable.

It’s because they’re all part of the same thing. They’re all parts of a whole. A mastodontic, eldritch, immeasurable whole.

And that’s why all rituals failed: because they pulled the whole from one thing only.

What a fantastical explanation, what a wonderfully creative choice! Not only it fits perfectly with all the pieces that have been left until now, but it also makes the Powers even more terrifying. Not single eldritch, terrible fears, but part of a whole that is so big and so terrifying… URGH I LOVE IT SO MUCH <3

About the Archivist:

JONAH MAGNUS, KING OF ALL MOTHERFUCKERS WHO EVER MOTHERFUCKED.

The plan never was to make Jon powerful for the Watcher’s Crown: it was to make him stronger, so he could face all Powers, experience all fears on his skin and call all of them at the same time.

And that means my theory is partially true because I said Jon had to become strong to make the ritual happen and he knew nothing about the Watcher’s Crown, because he (subconsciously) was already performing it.

And do you remember what I said I would do, if I got this right?

_______________________________

In conclusion

The world is totally fucked, Jon is uber fucked, Martin is fucked, everyone is fucked.

And here on top stands Jonah/Elias: The One Who Fucked Everyone.

And no, I still don’t hate him. How could I? He’s GREAT. He was just a meme and a funny villain before; now he revealed himself to be the biggest and the most clever antagonist of the whole series, an ancient son of a bitch who carefully planned everything to go the way he wanted.

And he succeeded. In the end, he got his rightful victory. He did everything right, he deserved it. This conclusion was fair for him and for the story: if you’re a clever fucker, you deserve to see your plans succeed.

But that means our heroes should now get extra clever and find a way to put him down and bring everything back to normal, because of course we cannot end without a fight.

And yes, I fear Jon is growing a huge “DEAD” sign on his head too… but let’s ignore it for now. We have a motherfucker to bring down and a world to save - again and, hopefully, for the last time.

This season was insane, an emotional rollercoaster filled with information, answers, and hints leading to even more satisfying answers. The characters are insanely good, Martin is the best man alive, Elias/Jonah is the king of motherfuckers and I could rant about how complex and interesting Jon is for days, so let’s stop here before this post becomes even longer than it already is.

But just to be sure, let me explode once again because I have too many feels and only this can express the mess inside me.

We will meet again very soon with season five because I physically NEED to see how this chaos will end.

-> Next post

(How about a coffee? ☕)

_______________________________

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