#future knowledge

[fuzzyghost]

Future Knowledge podcast artwork

[renaultphile]

A new podcast from the Internet Archive...

Fans of the Internet Archive might be interested in their new podcast available to subscribe and download on a range of platforms.

I can recommend the first episode entitled 'The Copyright Wars' which plays an interview from 2022 about the history of copyright and the implications for the future of digital preservation and sharing of knowledge. It certainly put a few things in perspective for me.

If you haven't discovered this amazing resource for research and digital book borrowing yet, you can sign up for a free account here.

[ms2253]

new podcast from Internet Archive and Authors Alliance

[whateverwords33]

One Piece Manga Review

Summit War Saga > Impel Down Arc

Background:

Firstly, I'm a manga reader and I'm all caught up on the story. Big fan of the series and decided to re-read the colored version, but starting on an arc I'm not as familiar with. I've played many of the older games and have re-read the manga before, so I decided to skip the earlier arcs and restart my journey with Water 7. As I created this account after I started this, I decided I will just review the arc I have currently finished and go on from there. And when spoilers hit, that includes future spoilers— you've been warned!

~Luffy's solo, yet cast-heavy, adventure. The foreshadowing goes hard in this one~

Spoilers

This is the first time in the series Luffy is on his own, not counting the beginning when he literally was. Technically, this began in the previous Amazon Lily arc, but there was no major antagonist in his way. Impel Down gives Resident Evil 2 vibes. Luffy is trying to go through the prison while this unstoppable monster Magellan, won't stay down no matter how many times he gets hit. And what I love about Magellan is that he never actually loses. He wins every fight, yet ultimately loses the arc...but not the war if you really think about it. Marines do end up winning the war, even if it ends up a complete mess, but we'll discuss that later later.

I like how the prison is a different take on Dante's Inferno, each level represented by a different theme and housing stronger criminals the further down you go. And it's under the sea! That's such a smart move since the worst of the worst pirates/criminals could have devil fruit powers and are weak to sea water. Another layer of interest, each floor (mostly) re-introduces us to a character we've met previously in the story. Level 1 with Buggy, L2 Mr. 3 (Galdino), L3 Mr. 2 (Bon Clay), L4 Mr. 1 (Daz Bonez), & L6 Mr. 0 (Crocodile). Level 5 we don't meet anyone, except for Emporio Ivankov (L5.5), who will be important for the future.

If you're a manga reader, then you know by previous cover stories what led the former Baroque Works members here, but to see it actually pay off and come back up in the main story is phenomenal. We know these characters— they've played a major impact in an older arc, and having them end up in the most secure prison in the world makes sense. They're global criminals, they deserve to be here...and Buggy. Speaking of, three of the future four emperors acquire a new member(s) from Impel Down. Half of the major Blackbeard pirates are recruited here (we learn that later, we only really know Shiryu joins at the end of the arc while the others are name dropped). This is where Buggy and Baroque Works "team-up" to later form Cross Guild with Mihawk, and Luffy meets Jinbe who joins his crew later on.

On the topic of Luffy, do you think he's going to die by the end of the series? Or is he going to do a Gol D. Roger and learn that he's dying and turn himself in and start a new age of piracy? Maybe that's how the series will end...hmmm not a bad theory actually. Anywho, when Luffy's gear transformations get introduced we learn that they take a toll on his body and shorten his lifespan. When he gets an overdose of poison from Magellan, Ivankov uses ten years of Luffy's life to cure him. I didn't mean to make this into a theory post mid-review, but Oda may actually end the series with Luffy mirroring Roger's death. Legends are born after death.

Okay, back to why I brought this up in the first place, Bon Clay drags Luffy's dying body to level five. Yes, the reasoning is because he's looking for Ivankov who was last seen on this floor, but I think there's another layer to it. I believe this is Oda's way of saying that at his current state, Luffy would only be level five material. He's not at the point yet to be on the hidden sixth floor, not till after the time skip. Also a funny Pokemon reference, Luffy can't recruit Jinbe yet because his power level is too low and his new recruit wouldn't listen to his commands (this joke is for me). Jinbe is such a unique future recruit because he goes through his own character journey behind-the-scenes before actually joining. He's that character in the RPG you meet multiple times, doing their own main quest, before they finally join the party.

As a stand-alone arc, I think it's pretty good and quite solid. Looking back at it with all my future knowledge, this story hits even harder knowing how important this arc is for future character development. Cross Guild isn't randomly made, we see the groundwork laid out. We know how strong Blackbeard's crew is because we witnessed where they were recruited from. Future strawhat member shows how vital he will be to the group with his robust set of skills. And even in Hell, the flower of friendship blooms...okama way...~

TLDR; 3 out of 4 future Emporers go shopping for new recruits. Buggy looks for quantity, Blackbeard goes for quality, while Luffy finds someone who fits just right. Oh, and there's gonna be a War.

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

died and came back tired. died and came back exhausted. died and came back with manic energy. died and came back with malingering unease. died and came back twitchy. so many possibilities

[z13lovebot]

The ghosts of smilk past and future playing wingman 🌀

[reality-detective]

Beautifully explained, though the left will never acknowledge the truth. 🤔

[just-null]

its my first time here~ just found you~! Im so happy , i just wanted to say your art is crazyyy~!! Do ypu mind drawing other demons too? Or slayers? Like....kokushibo~? Your art can make him 10 times hotter ! . BUT its just a question ~ hope you have nice day

my first attempt at drawing any of the upper three! + my previous loves, gyutarou and daki

[milkamel]

I've been trying to come up with a decent Fount design cause I didn't like the previous ones I had. Solution: made him fluffy

[cyborgized]

Knowledge is power

[pratchettquotes]

"I want a school, sir. I want a school here on the Chalk. I've been thinking about this for a long time--in fact, for longer than I had worked out the name for what I wanted. There's an old barn on Home Farm that isn't being used right now, and I think we could make it quite acceptable in a week or so."

"Well, the traveling teachers do come through every few months," said the Baron.

"Yes, sir, I know, sir, and they're useless, sir. They teach facts, not understanding. It's like teaching people about forests by showing them a saw. I want a proper school, sir, to teach reading and writing, and most of all thinking, sir, so people can find what they're good at, because someone doing what they really like is always an asset to any country, and too often people never find out until it's too late. [...] There have been times lately, when I dearly wish that I could change the past. Well, I can't, but I can change the present, so that when it becomes the past it will turn out to be a past worth having."

Terry Pratchett, I Shall Wear Midnight

[sketchnskribbles]

Elita One bringing out her minors miners out for their daily mandatory walk. What a wonderful Supervisor she is 🥰

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 291

You know what? I’m feelin’ a Prompt with the whole halfa family, all the clones and everything. 

See, Danny? He’s grown up, he’s moved out, started looking at colleges himself after spending a few years travelling and learning about himself without the threat of a ghost attack. 

He’s kept in touch with his friends, both living and dead, and ignores Vlad for the most part now that they’ve reached a truce of sorts, and honestly? He’s just living his life. 

But see, it’s kind of hard to figure out what college to pick, with his admittedly not-great choices. Look, he might have a new-ish ID but he’s still visibly not exactly human (though thankfully doesn’t have to worry about the GIW after a… summer activity that ended with several missing buildings) 

And most people he goes to? Finds him ‘too unsettling’ which excuse him?? How is he unsettling? He’s a twenty-five year old with six kids ranging from one to six! How is that “scary” huh? Ancients, and all this is making him use the cash he’s saved up over time. 

And then- as though all of this isn’t stressful enough and he’s not genuinely worried that he won’t have enough money to feed the kids if he goes to school- a hero nearly trips over Jordan and starts freaking out. He is so fucking done. 

[egophiliac]

BIRD SSR????????????

NOOOO I wasted all my keys on Platinum Malleus, HOW CAN THEY DO THIS TO ME

(I do kinda love that this is officially "Raven Jacket" Crowley though) (does this open up the possibility of a selection of future Crowley fashion cards)

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Can you draw Liu Mingyan, Ning Yingying and Sha Hualing In your art style please?

I thought I had, but it turns out I've only drawn them as skin creatures, or as sketches I never posted...I'm sorry women.

[krakenattack]

Mild spoiler for The Last Graduate ahead, but:

Having just reread the whole series, I love how at odds El and the Scholomance are. Like, El's pessimism is a great way of making your narrator unreliable, since El is sometimes right and sometimes wrong always expecting the worst response from everyone around her(a thought worthy of another entire post), but it becomes very funny once she realizes that part of the problem at school is that she can't do small spells? Like, she spends the whole first book being like 'this school is the devil tempting me to evil, it wants me to become a maleficier, I can't even ask for a simple cleaning spell without getting horrible spells for summoning mortal flames and enslaving an army of people, I hate it', and meanwhile the Scholomance is flipping frantically through its catalogue of spells gathered over thousands of years, desperately trying to find a spell in a language El knows that she can also cast with her affinity for working incredibly large and powerful spells. El's over here driving a bulldozer and saying, 'I would like to build a Jenga tower' and the Scholomance is looking at her with the weary despair of a preschool teacher knowing they're going to be suffering through a temper tantrum soon but unable to stop it.

El, a furious teenager who doesn't know as much as she thinks she does: I don't wanna summon a mortal flame! I want my room clean!

The Scholomance, a giant building that cleans its own hallways, floors, dishes and various and assorted other workings with mortal flame: Why is this child testing me

Also hilarious in retrospect is El's blithe statement in the first book about how no one would ever give her that much mana to do these high volume spells bc mana isn't free or easy to acquire and so the school is clearly telling her to turn maleficier and kill her fellow students all while Orion is humming to himself as he kills mals and dumps oodles and oodles of mana into the New York power sharers.

El "I'd rather die than ask for help" Higgins: I won't do these spells bc no one will give me mana

The Scholomance, as loudly as a building who may or may not be partially sentient and who can't speak human languages: Wow, those sure are some HIGH MANA VOLUME spells you got there! If only there was SOMEONE around who would be able to provide you with a NIGH LIMITLESS FLOW OF MANA so that you'd be able to cast them!

Orion: :)

El: *hisses like a feral cat*

Orion: :(

The Scholomance: oh my freaking god

Hilarious. Top tier humor.