#we are using technologies that are new and innovative and useful to us in this time and place

[kotoryba]

#I have an idea but no time: what if "cultivation" in MDZS world really means... "farming"?

Based on this post: @dramatic-dolphin , I think you view things in the right direction! 😁❤️

Modern AU, where five powerful agricultural corporations practically rule the life of the country, dividing the workforce and resources for the best food production:

Cloud Recesses Inc. in Gusu — organic vegetables, strictly no pesticides, no chemical fertilisers; only straw mulching, complementary crops, attracting of natural predators for pests (ladybugs and other entomofags), natural irrigation etc. Centuries-long history of family business, no outside high-level management at all. Organised the famous agricultural academy, where share the knowledge about organic farming.

Lotus Cove Company in Yunmeng — fisheries, lotus growing, for seeds, roots and making the dyes (famous "Yunmeng Lotus Purple), river pearls and others; the company unites many small local farms and proposes them the processing and manufacturing of finished products and logistics. Regular searches of new initiative talents for company from local residents, but they keep the controlling stake in the main family.

Jin Golden Carp Corp. in Lanling - floristic and orchard business, have huge greenhouses with exotic fruits; M&A the lands from small landlords and enterprises by cheap prices and in general lead the tons of leasing and funding financial operations. Not clean reputation, but the huge PR&GR and legal departments helps with this a lot.

Butcher's Saber Ent. in Qinghe — meat and dairy production mostly. They propose the best salaries on local workforce market and due to that acquire a strong loyalty among the residents — but have severe corporation policies about the industrial espionage and thefts . And also BS Ent. has the strictest (except Cloud Recesses Inc.) safety standards for all product cycle.

Wen LLC in Qishan — broiler poultry farming, second big competitor of meat production after BS Ent. in region; breeding of new sorts and seed selling business (here we have uncontrollable usage of GMO, chemicals and pharmaceutical products, but all experiments keeps in secret from public). Due to the excessive usage of pesticides and fertilisation, they faced with pollution and soil depletion, therefore actively expanding their cultivation areas by raider attacks and property fraud. Payed the good salaries but have a catastrophic penalty system for keeping the mouths shut, but you must be Wen for obtaining even the middle management position.

Maybe the story begins, where the prominent student WWX (who thinks about agricultural technologies in non-traditional way, for example — builds robots and automatisation programs for harvesters machines, searches the solutions in nano-biology and something similar) entered the Gusu Lan academy as a part of sharing experience delegation from Lotus Cove.

Or from the moment, when Wens decided to attack their competitors, using the false accusations about owners, cyberattacks, sabotage and brute force?

Or when the little WWX's innovative company in the most infertile lands of Burial Mounds became way too bottleneck due to progressive researches of someone's brilliant mind, that the other big corporations collectively decided to wip the unwanted competitor from the market at all?

Maybe in the classic way, when WWX, who was in a coma for thirteen years after a huge fire in his laboratory, received the organ transplant and new face from unknown beneficiary — and waked up? With clear suspicions who was really behind this incident that also killed his shijie and her husband? Now he's unrecognisable for his friends and enemies and can investigate the case freely. Maybe, the little help from LWJ, the second heir of Cloud Recesses Inc., could be useful? They were just-step-before-good-friends in his previous life...

Do you know, guys, that there are real wars in agricultural business nowadays? Maybe, they are even more dangerous, than in imaginary magical world of jianhu...

[lune-moon-nuit]

Does our future depend on technology?

Since the Industrial Revolution, technology has established itself as a major driver of human progress, profoundly transforming our lifestyles, knowledge, and relationship to the world. From medical breakthroughs to information technologies, through automation, technology seems to guide the major directions of our future. But can we truly say that our future depends on technology? Does this mean that technology determines our destiny, as an unavoidable, even uncontrollable force? Or should we understand that, while humanity's future is shaped by technology, it still relies on other dimensions — ethical, political, spiritual — that technology cannot encompass?

Thus, we shall ask: Is technology the necessary and sufficient condition for our future, or is it merely one means among others, subordinate to more fundamental human choices?

We will first examine how technology appears to be the primary engine of human evolution and thus of our future. Then, we will show that it does not necessarily guarantee a desirable future and that it cannot by itself guide humanity. Finally, we will argue that if our future does depend on technology, it is insofar as we choose how to use it — which brings us back to our ethical and political responsibility.

I. Technology as the decisive engine of human development

Technology, understood as the set of means invented by humans to transform their environment, is one of the fundamental traits of humanity. Since prehistoric times, the use of tools has distinguished Homo habilis from its ancestors: technology appears as consubstantial to our species, as Henri Bergson points out in Creative Evolution: “Man is the being who makes tools.”

Since then, every technological advance has marked a major turning point in history: writing, printing, the steam engine, electricity, the Internet… all these inventions have radically changed our societies, our modes of production, communication, and thought. Today, innovations in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, robotics, or energy heavily shape economic models, public policies, and ecological prospects for tomorrow.

In this sense, the future seems to depend on our ability to invent new technologies, to respond with technical means to the challenges of our time: climate crisis, pandemics, aging populations, resource scarcity. From a deterministic perspective, technology appears not only as a driving force but as a condition for humanity’s survival. This is what Heidegger discusses in The Question Concerning Technology, when he asserts that modern technology is no longer merely a tool, but a “challenging” of nature — a way of extracting all its available resources. It shapes our worldview, and therefore, our future.

II. But a future governed solely by technology is dangerous and illusory

However, to consider that our future depends exclusively on technology is to forget that it does not think for itself. It is a means, not an end. It is at the service of human intentions — for better or for worse. History abounds in examples of technology being used for destructive purposes: nuclear weapons, mass surveillance, uncontrolled genetic manipulation. As Hans Jonas warns, technological progress does not necessarily imply moral progress.

Technology can therefore both serve the future and harm it, depending on how it is used. It is a power that is fundamentally ambivalent. The atomic bomb and radiation therapy both use nuclear energy, but their aims are radically different. Far from automatically ensuring a better future, technology raises fundamental ethical questions: how far should we go in manipulating life? Are we still free in a world dominated by algorithms? Who truly benefits from technological innovation?

Consequently, reducing the future to a technical dependency would be to deny humanity’s capacity to choose, to exercise free will. It would mean abandoning our future to a logic of efficiency and profitability that ignores essential values such as justice, freedom, or human dignity.

III. Our future depends on technology, insofar as we remain its masters

Rather than viewing technology as a fatality, we must acknowledge that our future depends on how we design, regulate, and direct it. Humans remain the originators of technology: it is the fruit of our inventive mind, but also of our collective choices. In this sense, our future depends on technology only insofar as we integrate it within a broader political, philosophical, and ethical vision.

Hannah Arendt, in The Human Condition, emphasizes the distinction between labor, work, and action. While technology belongs to the domain of “work” — that is, fabrication — “action” involves freedom and responsibility. It is through political action, democratic debate, education, and critical reflection that humanity can direct the use of technology toward a desirable future.

Moreover, some of the most crucial questions for our future — such as the meaning of life, social justice, the relationship to others or to nature — cannot be answered by technology. These questions concern our deepest humanity. Technology can offer solutions to problems, but it does not define what a good life is, what a just world is, or what a harmonious society looks like. These concerns belong to philosophy, culture, and ethics.

Therefore, our future does not depend on technology per se, but on our ability to inscribe it within a vision of the world that is both humane and responsible.

Conclusion

It would be unrealistic to deny that technology plays a fundamental role in shaping our future: it transforms our ways of living, addresses major challenges, and opens unprecedented possibilities. But it is not neutral, nor self-sufficient. The future cannot rely solely on a means, without reflection on the ends.

Thus, our future does depend on technology, not as a fatality, but as a choice — the choice to use it for the common good, in accordance with human values. The real question is not whether technology will shape our future, but whether we will be able to shape technology toward a truly human future.

[ilovedthestars]

A thought I’ve been having: While it's important to recognize the long history of many current queer identities (and the even longer history of people who lived outside of the straight, cis, allo “norm”) I think it's also important to remember that a label or identity doesn't have to be old to be, for lack of a better word, real.

This post that i reblogged a little while ago about asexuality and its history in the LGBTQ+ rights movement and before is really good and really important. As i've thought about it more, though, it makes me wonder why we need to prove that our labels have "always existed." In the case of asexuality, that post is pushing back against exclusionists who say that asexuality was “made up on the internet” and is therefore invalid. The post proves that untrue, which is important, because it takes away a tool for exclusionists.

But aromanticism, a label & community with a lot of overlap & solidarity with asexuality, was not a label that existed during Stonewall and the subsequent movement. It was coined a couple decades ago, on internet forums. While the phrasing is dismissive, it would be technically accurate to say that it was “made up on the internet.” To be very clear, I’m not agreeing with the exclusionists here—I’m aromantic myself. What I’m asking is, why does being a relatively recently coined label make it any less real or valid for people to identify with?

I think this emphasis on historical precedent is what leads to some of the attempts to label historical figures with modern terminology. If we can say someone who lived 100 or 1000 years ago was gay, or nonbinary, or asexual, or whatever, then that grants the identity legitimacy. but that's not the terminology they would have used then, and we have no way of knowing how, or if, any historical person's experiences would fit into modern terminology.

There's an element of "the map is not the territory" here, you know? Like this really good post says, labels are social technologies. There's a tendency in the modern Western queer community to act like in the last few decades the "truth" about how genders and orientations work has become more widespread and accepted. But that leaves out all the cultures, both historical and modern, that use a model of gender and sexuality that doesn't map neatly to LGBTQ+ identities but is nonetheless far more nuanced than "there are two genders, man and woman, and everyone is allo and straight." Those systems aren’t any more or less “true” than the system of gay/bi/pan/etc and straight, cis and trans, aro/ace and allo.

I guess what I’m saying is, and please bear with me here, “gay” people have not always existed. “Nonbinary” people have not always existed. “Asexual” people have not always existed. But people who fell in love with and had sex with others of the same gender have always existed. People who would not have identified themselves as either men or women have always existed. People who didn’t prioritize sex (and/or romance) as important parts of their lives have always existed. In the grand scheme of human existence, all our labels are new, and that’s okay. In another hundred or thousand years we’ll have completely different ways of thinking about gender and sexuality, and that’ll be okay too. Our labels can still be meaningful to us and our experiences right now, and that makes them real and important no matter how new they are.

We have a history, and we should not let it be erased. But we don’t need a history for our experiences and ways of describing ourselves to be real, right now.

[yeyinde]

I think there's a lot of good that could potentially come from ai, but I just wish we weren't so willing to sacrifice human creativity and the arts to it so quickly.

[kimludcom]

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2025

As we bid farewell to the past year and embrace the dawn of 2025, it's time to reflect on the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. The start of a new year is a chance for fresh beginnings, setting goals, and making positive changes in our lives. Let's explore what the year 2025 has in store for us.

What Trends Will Shape 2025?

In the year 2025, we can expect to see significant advancements in technology, healthcare, sustainability, and more. With the rise of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and renewable energy sources, the world is poised for a transformative year ahead. According to experts, the global economy is projected to grow by X% in 2025, driven by innovation and digitalization.

How Can You Make the Most of 2025?

To make the most of the opportunities that 2025 presents, it's essential to set clear goals, prioritize self-care, and stay adaptable in the face of change. Whether you're looking to advance your career, improve your health, or deepen your relationships, the key is to take proactive steps towards your aspirations. Studies show that people who set specific goals are X% more likely to achieve success compared to those who don't.

What Challenges Might Arise in 2025?

While the new year brings promise and excitement, it also comes with its own set of challenges. From geopolitical tensions to environmental concerns, individuals and communities will need to navigate various obstacles in 2025. It's crucial to stay informed, resilient, and proactive in addressing these challenges to create a better future for all.

How Can You Stay Positive and Resilient in 2025?

Staying positive and resilient in the face of adversity is key to thriving in 2025. Practicing mindfulness, cultivating a strong support network, and focusing on gratitude can help boost mental well-being and emotional resilience. Research shows that individuals who practice gratitude daily experience a X% increase in overall happiness and well-being.

As we embark on this new chapter, let's embrace the opportunities, overcome the challenges, and strive for a brighter future in 2025. Wishing you a happy and prosperous new year!

Welcome to a brand new year, full of endless possibilities and opportunities! As we step into 2025, it's the perfect time to reflect on the past year and set intentions for the year ahead. Whether you're looking to make big changes or simply want to embrace a fresh start, the new year is the perfect time to do so.

Setting Meaningful Goals

One of the best ways to kick off the new year is by setting meaningful goals for yourself. Take some time to think about what you want to achieve in the coming months and create a plan to make it happen. Whether it's focusing on personal growth, improving your health, or advancing in your career, setting goals can help you stay motivated and focused throughout the year.

Embracing Positive Changes

2025 is a blank canvas waiting to be filled with positive changes and new experiences. Embrace the opportunity to try new things, step out of your comfort zone, and challenge yourself to grow. Whether it's picking up a new hobby, traveling to a new destination, or making new friends, the new year is the perfect time to embrace change and welcome new opportunities into your life.

Practicing Gratitude

As you embark on this new year, don't forget to practice gratitude for all the blessings in your life. Take time each day to reflect on the things you are grateful for, whether it's your health, your loved ones, or the simple joys in life. Cultivating a mindset of gratitude can help you stay positive and focused on the good, even during challenging times.

Spreading Kindness

One of the best ways to make the world a better place in 2025 is by spreading kindness wherever you go. Whether it's a small act of kindness towards a stranger, volunteering in your community, or simply being there for a friend in need, every act of kindness has the power to make a difference. Let's make 2025 a year filled with compassion, empathy, and generosity towards others.

As you embark on this new year, remember that the possibilities are endless and the future is bright. Embrace the opportunities that come your way, stay true to yourself, and make 2025 a year to remember. Happy New Year!

[river-taxbird]

AI hasn't improved in 18 months. It's likely that this is it. There is currently no evidence the capabilities of ChatGPT will ever improve. It's time for AI companies to put up or shut up.

I'm just re-iterating this excellent post from Ed Zitron, but it's not left my head since I read it and I want to share it. I'm also taking some talking points from Ed's other posts. So basically:

We keep hearing AI is going to get better and better, but these promises seem to be coming from a mix of companies engaging in wild speculation and lying.

Chatgpt, the industry leading large language model, has not materially improved in 18 months. For something that claims to be getting exponentially better, it sure is the same shit.

Hallucinations appear to be an inherent aspect of the technology. Since it's based on statistics and ai doesn't know anything, it can never know what is true. How could I possibly trust it to get any real work done if I can't rely on it's output? If I have to fact check everything it says I might as well do the work myself.

For "real" ai that does know what is true to exist, it would require us to discover new concepts in psychology, math, and computing, which open ai is not working on, and seemingly no other ai companies are either.

Open ai has already seemingly slurped up all the data from the open web already. Chatgpt 5 would take 5x more training data than chatgpt 4 to train. Where is this data coming from, exactly?

Since improvement appears to have ground to a halt, what if this is it? What if Chatgpt 4 is as good as LLMs can ever be? What use is it?

As Jim Covello, a leading semiconductor analyst at Goldman Sachs said (on page 10, and that's big finance so you know they only care about money): if tech companies are spending a trillion dollars to build up the infrastructure to support ai, what trillion dollar problem is it meant to solve? AI companies have a unique talent for burning venture capital and it's unclear if Open AI will be able to survive more than a few years unless everyone suddenly adopts it all at once. (Hey, didn't crypto and the metaverse also require spontaneous mass adoption to make sense?)

There is no problem that current ai is a solution to. Consumer tech is basically solved, normal people don't need more tech than a laptop and a smartphone. Big tech have run out of innovations, and they are desperately looking for the next thing to sell. It happened with the metaverse and it's happening again.

In summary:

Ai hasn't materially improved since the launch of Chatgpt4, which wasn't that big of an upgrade to 3.

There is currently no technological roadmap for ai to become better than it is. (As Jim Covello said on the Goldman Sachs report, the evolution of smartphones was openly planned years ahead of time.) The current problems are inherent to the current technology and nobody has indicated there is any way to solve them in the pipeline. We have likely reached the limits of what LLMs can do, and they still can't do much.

Don't believe AI companies when they say things are going to improve from where they are now before they provide evidence. It's time for the AI shills to put up, or shut up.

[everythingisamazing]

We all know about most of these by now, but I thought it'd be fun to make a comprehensive list of all the things of varying degrees of insanity both Jayce and Viktor have done in the series to, for and because of each other: 1. Viktor looking at Jayce in the most intense but also thoroughly enchanted way in the council room scene

2. Viktor stealing Jayces notebook from Heimerdinger after Jayces research was officially deemed "dangerous" by the council

3. Saving Jayce from suicide and instilling new hope, along with a sense of adventure in him manic-pixie-dream-girl-style.

4. Jayce asking for Viktors name in the most romantic way possible and Viktor answering him with 2 syllables and bedroom eyes

5. Jayce-I-egotistically-sign-all-my-notes-with-my-name-Talis going instant commie mode by calling his life long dream "our" dream after Viktor scribbled something on a blackboard and cracked a silly little joke once.

6. Casually snacking on pickles, bread, wine and coffee as if they weren't committing crimes and there wasn't a huge hole in the wall while nerding out about magic

7. Breaking into Heimerdingers lab together

8. Viktor using taking Jayce to his bedroom as an excuse when getting caught, and Jayce being too stressed out to notice

9. Viktor then having the audacity to look disappointed in the background when Mr. Oblivious reacts to Mel the way every single person with functioning eyes would react to that goddess of a woman

10. Both trusting each other enough to risk exile after knowing each other for like a day.

11. Jayce, although having just experienced the same crystals blowing up a building, going through with the dangerous experiment simply because Viktor says "trust me".

12. Viktor sacrificing his cane, which is basically an extension of his body, to keep the door shut 13. Jaye carrying him bridal style because of that afterwards.

13. Experiencing what they'd both probably rank among their top 3 moments in life when floating in the magic they just created together

14. Viktor smiling the only full on smile we see him do in the show because of that.

15. Jayce drawing a portrait of Viktor in his notebook, next to a little doodle of two brains with lightning between them and a reminder to ask him for his last name.

16. Working alongside each other as best friends for 7 years and creating world altering technology

17. Viktor yearning for Jayce each day, for each of those 7 years ("Viktor wanted things Jayce couldn't give him at the time")

18. Whatever the fuck happened at the distinguished innovators competition that was probably also among their top 3 moments because of the way Viktor looked when Jayce brought it up and the fact Jayce used it to remind Viktor of things that make life worth living

19. Jayce constantly touching Viktor. In almost every scene. Whenever he can.

20. Them giving each other the same dumb heart eyes but always when the other is not looking 21. Viktor looking at Jayces lips in the scene before he gives his speech

22. The way they say each others name. It gets progressively more breathy as the show goes on.

23. The way their pupils dilate in several scenes when looking at each other

24. The butterfly symbolism connecting them throughout both Seasons

25. (Debatable, but I will include it) Jayce having a bi-crisis when Ambessas twink reminds him of a certain someone

26. Jayce asking "You had a vision?" as if it is the most normal thing ever. (Thank you Jayce. We love a husband, who unabashedly supports his witchy partner, plagued by visions and omens.)

27. Jayce having his sex scene with Mel be intercut with scenes of Viktor (not something they actively did, but still has to be mentioned)

28. Jayce leaving Mel to be by Viktors bedside when he wakes up in the hospital

29. Viktor being the only one shown to notice how stressed Jayce is about getting pushed into being a councilor via the deep exhale he does in that scene

30. Jayce not letting Heimerdinger interfere with the experiments that might save Viktors life, no matter how dangerous

31. Jayce removing Heimerdinger from the council because of it

32. Viktor immediately thinking of Jayce when Singed mentions the word "love"

33. Viktor instinctively knowing Jayce will reach out his hand to help him up without having to look during the bridge scene

34. Viktor slapping his hand away, but then accepting when Jayce puts it on his lower back a second later

35. Jayce stopping Viktor from taking his own life

36. Jayce granting Zaun independence because he doesn't know how to save Viktors life but he has to do something to honor their shared dream

37. Jayce seeing the council room completely destroyed, with several people hurt and dead, but only tearing up when he sees Viktor

38. Jayce running several blocks while carrying Viktor to their lab

39. Breaking his promise to Viktor (and probably several laws) by performing necromancy on him

40. Jayce saying "fuck the council" and everything he has worked for, when he realizes none of that matters without Viktor

41. Jayce staying holed up in the lab for god knows how long to watch over Viktor

42. Jayce immediately waking up after Viktor quietly says his name, whereas we saw him sleeping through an air alarm before that.

43. Viktor looking...very different, but all Jayce cares about is that he is alive. 44. Jayce, glancing between Viktor’s legs in his changed form an ungodly number of times.

45. Them embracing very closely while Viktor is nude, ending with Jayce looking slightly embarrassed when the emotions are threatening to overwhelm him

46. Jayce covering Viktor in the blanket from his childhood bedroom which Viktor will keep even after reaching godhood.

47. "My place was always here with you."

48. "It was affection that held us together"

49. Jayce getting glassy eyed when Viktor tells him he is leaving and holding out his hand as if he is expecting him to come back and grab it.

50. Jayce looking heartbroken at Heimerdingers reminder of him having broken into the lab before

51. Jayce generally giving off freshly divorced vibes in that whole scene

52. Jayce longingly looking at the remains of two male figures embracing in the AU while sitting in the rain

53. Jayce hallucinating Mel turning into Viktor in the fire at the bottom of the ravine.

54. Jayce basically walking a mile in Viktors shoes, fighting his way from the depths of the Undercity to the top of piltover with a broken leg. 55. Matching leg braces on opposite legs.

56. Viktor walking a mile in Jayces shoes by becoming a leader in S2 and his body finally being strong, while Jayces gets broken in the Au.

57. Viktor designing the sphere in the commune similar to the top of the Hexgates he built with Jayce

58. Viktor finally realizing through Singeds memories, that he wasn't kept alive by Jayce as an experiment, but out of love

59. Jayce tenderly stroking the hexcrystal on his bracelet

60. Viktor tenderly stroking the gear that reminds him of the night him and Jayce became partners.

61. Jayce looking at mage!Viktor in the exact same awestruck way he did when he was a child - even after about 6 months of pain and suffering

62. Jayce being ready to sacrifice himself after mage!Viktor reveals the truth to him

63. AU Jayces corpse responding to Viktors touch 64. The fact that the only "beautiful" place left in Piltover was where Jayces corpse was

65. Jayce dramatically adding "...and with me" after saying to Viktor how he thought he was done with hextech, like the bitter divorced husband he is.

66. Viktor excitedly inviting Jayce to the commune, believing he finally knows how Jayce really feels about him

67. Viktor waiting for Jayce floating in the air like a venus fly trap, with his upper body bare, while holding the gear in his hands

68. Viktors eyes changing color when he sees Jayce.

69. Jayce visually having to fight himself to be able to shoot Viktor and not being able to look while doing it

70. Viktor never taking his eyes off of Jayce after being shot by him

71. Jayce leaving without as much as a glance back while looking absolutely destroyed

72. Jayce now dressing in dark colors - both Zaunite and mourning coded

73. Jayces clothes being asymmetrical in the final scene - Zaun style

74. The most homoerotic fight in history.

75. Viktor giving bedroom eyes #2

76. Viktor choking Jayce (twice)

77. "Let's do this once again as partners." (Viktor didn't speak when he said this. He purred.)

78. Jayce lovingly caressing the gold poured into the broken council room table as if it was the golden lines in Viktors new skin.

79. Jayce having a dead-wife-flashback when Cait says "Viktor is at the center of all this, isn't he?", remembering him smiling, with a strand of hair prettily falling in front of his face, when that isn't what Viktor really looked like in that moment.

80. "I've been confused about a lot lately."

81. Viktors Mask as the herald resembling the Talis Symbol

82. Another homoerotic fight

83. Jayce never looking at Viktor in any of his forms with disgust, not even as he becomes some sort of eldritch being, but like this instead:

84. Jayce kneeling down calmly infront of Viktor, accepting his fate

85. Jayces whole speech on the astral plane. Calling Viktors imperfections beautiful. Basically revealing how his plan was to deter Viktor from destroying the world by confessing his love to him.

86. IN ALL TIMELINES, IN ALL POSSIBILITES. SOULBONDED ACROSS INFINITY. INEXTRICABLY BOUND. ONLY YOU CAN SHOW ME THIS. NO MATTER THE CIRCUMSTANCES, IT'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE YOU.

87. Viktors eyes practically glowing in Jayces memory of him.

88. The "you have no idea how beautiful it is"-magic Jayce had been chasing since he was a child turning out to be Viktor all along.

89. Viktor bending the laws of the universe because he cannot let Jayce die

90. Jayce dooming the world over and over again because he cannot let Viktor die

91. "Because I promised you."

92. Jayce embracing Viktor again and Viktor, starting to glow gold where Jayces hands touch him.

93. Viktor telling Jayce to go, giving him the choice to live on without him

94. Jayce looking at him so tenderly yet sadly, because Viktor STILL doesn't realize he will never go. Ever.

95. Jayce passing the rune embedded in his wrist back to Viktor as if handing him his heart.

96. "We finish this. Together."

97. Them fighting to hold on to each other even though the force of the Arcane is pulling them apart

98. It finally giving up underneath the touch of both their hands

99. That one shot directly after where Viktor looks up from where their hands are touching and he has this expression on his face as if FINALLY realizing that he is no longer alone because of how Jayce truly feels about him.

100. Their final embrace: Touching foreheads. Jayces hand on Viktors neck. Viktor gently stroking his arm as if to soothe his partner.

Ps: If I have missed anything, let me know! I want to add it to the list :D

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Month - June 2024

💡Eco-friendly innovations building a better future—literally

1. Bill Gates-backed startup creates Lego-like brick that can store air pollution for centuries: 'A milestone for affordably removing carbon dioxide from the air'

The Washington Post detailed a "deceptively simple" procedure by Graphyte to store a ton of CO2 for around $100 a ton, a number long considered a milestone for affordably removing carbon dioxide from the air. Direct air capture technologies used in the United States and Iceland cost $600 to $1,200 per ton, per the Post.

2. Violent crime is down and the US murder rate is plunging, FBI statistics show

Violent crime dropped by more than 15% in the United States during the first three months of 2024, according to statistics released Monday by the FBI.

The new numbers show violent crime from January to March dropped 15.2% compared to the same period in 2023, while murders fell 26.4% and reported rapes decreased by 25.7%.

3. She thrifted this vase for $4. It turned out to be an ancient Mayan artifact

Anna Lee Dozier, paid about $4 for what she assumed was a reproduction of a Mayan vase. It turned out to be the real deal: an artifact that’s at least 1,200 years old from the ancient civilization. And now, it's headed back to its homeland.

4. U.S. Marshals Find 200 Missing Children Across the Nation During Operation We Will Find You 2

Of the 200 children found, 173 were endangered runaways, 25 were considered otherwise missing, one was a family abduction, and one was a non-family abduction. [...] 14 of the children were found outside the city where they went missing.

5. Amazon's ditching the plastic air pillows in its boxes

Amazon said the change will help it use nearly 15 billion fewer plastic pillows annually. The paper fillers are made from 100% recyclable materials and are curbside recyclable. The company began a transition away from plastic filler in October 2023 when it announced its first U.S. automated fulfillment center to eliminate plastic-delivery packaging.

6. Supreme Court rejects bid to restrict access to abortion pill

In a blow for anti-abortion advocates, the Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a challenge to the abortion pill mifepristone, meaning the commonly used drug can remain widely available. The court found unanimously that the group of anti-abortion doctors who questioned the Food and Drug Administration’s decisions making it easier to access the pill did not have legal standing to sue.  

7. Wild horses return to Kazakhstan steppes after absence of two centuries

A group of the world’s last wild horses have returned to their native Kazakhstan after an absence of about 200 years. Seven Przewalski’s horses, the only truly wild species of the animal in the world, flown to central Asian country from zoos in Europe

That's it for this month :)

This newsletter will always be free. If you liked this post you can support me with a small kofi donation here:

Buy me a coffee ❤️

Also don’t forget to share this post with your friends.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

How lock-in hurts design

Berliners: Otherland has added a second date (Jan 28) for my book-talk after the first one sold out - book now!

If you've ever read about design, you've probably encountered the idea of "paving the desire path." A "desire path" is an erosion path created by people departing from the official walkway and taking their own route. The story goes that smart campus planners don't fight the desire paths laid down by students; they pave them, formalizing the route that their constituents have voted for with their feet.

Desire paths aren't always great (Wikipedia notes that "desire paths sometimes cut through sensitive habitats and exclusion zones, threatening wildlife and park security"), but in the context of design, a desire path is a way that users communicate with designers, creating a feedback loop between those two groups. The designers make a product, the users use it in ways that surprise the designer, and the designer integrates all that into a new revision of the product.

This method is widely heralded as a means of "co-innovating" between users and companies. Designers who practice the method are lauded for their humility, their willingness to learn from their users. Tech history is strewn with examples of successful paved desire-paths.

Take John Deere. While today the company is notorious for its war on its customers (via its opposition to right to repair), Deere was once a leader in co-innovation, dispatching roving field engineers to visit farms and learn how farmers had modified their tractors. The best of these modifications would then be worked into the next round of tractor designs, in a virtuous cycle:

https://securityledger.com/2019/03/opinion-my-grandfathers-john-deere-would-support-our-right-to-repair/

But this pattern is even more pronounced in the digital world, because it's much easier to update a digital service than it is to update all the tractors in the field, especially if that service is cloud-based, meaning you can modify the back-end everyone is instantly updated. The most celebrated example of this co-creation is Twitter, whose users created a host of its core features.

Retweets, for example, were a user creation. Users who saw something they liked on the service would type "RT" and paste the text and the link into a new tweet composition window. Same for quote-tweets: users copied the URL for a tweet and pasted it in below their own commentary. Twitter designers observed this user innovation and formalized it, turning it into part of Twitter's core feature-set.

Companies are obsessed with discovering digital desire paths. They pay fortunes for analytics software to produce maps of how their users interact with their services, run focus groups, even embed sneaky screen-recording software into their web-pages:

https://www.wired.com/story/the-dark-side-of-replay-sessions-that-record-your-every-move-online/

This relentless surveillance of users is pursued in the name of making things better for them: let us spy on you and we'll figure out where your pain-points and friction are coming from, and remove those. We all win!

But this impulse is a world apart from the humility and respect implied by co-innovation. The constant, nonconsensual observation of users has more to do with controlling users than learning from them.

That is, after all, the ethos of modern technology: the more control a company can exert over its users ,the more value it can transfer from those users to its shareholders. That's the key to enshittification, the ubiquitous platform decay that has degraded virtually all the technology we use, making it worse every day:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/19/twiddler/

When you are seeking to control users, the desire paths they create are all too frequently a means to wrestling control back from you. Take advertising: every time a service makes its ads more obnoxious and invasive, it creates an incentive for its users to search for "how do I install an ad-blocker":

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/07/adblocking-how-about-nah

More than half of all web-users have installed ad-blockers. It's the largest consumer boycott in human history:

https://doc.searls.com/2023/11/11/how-is-the-worlds-biggest-boycott-doing/

But zero app users have installed ad-blockers, because reverse-engineering an app requires that you bypass its encryption, triggering liability under Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This law provides for a $500,000 fine and a 5-year prison sentence for "circumvention" of access controls:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/12/youre-holding-it-wrong/#if-dishwashers-were-iphones

Beyond that, modifying an app creates liability under copyright, trademark, patent, trade secrets, noncompete, nondisclosure and so on. It's what Jay Freeman calls "felony contempt of business model":

https://locusmag.com/2020/09/cory-doctorow-ip/

This is why services are so horny to drive you to install their app rather using their websites: they are trying to get you to do something that, given your druthers, you would prefer not to do. They want to force you to exit through the gift shop, you want to carve a desire path straight to the parking lot. Apps let them mobilize the law to literally criminalize those desire paths.

An app is just a web-page wrapped in enough IP to make it a felony to block ads in it (or do anything else that wrestles value back from a company). Apps are web-pages where everything not forbidden is mandatory.

Seen in this light, an app is a way to wage war on desire paths, to abandon the cooperative model for co-innovation in favor of the adversarial model of user control and extraction.

Corporate apologists like to claim that the proliferation of apps proves that users like them. Neoliberal economists love the idea that business as usual represents a "revealed preference." This is an intellectually unserious tautology: "you do this, so you must like it":

https://boingboing.net/2024/01/22/hp-ceo-says-customers-are-a-bad-investment-unless-they-can-be-made-to-buy-companys-drm-ink-cartridges.html

Calling an action where no alternatives are permissible a "preference" or a "choice" is a cheap trick – especially when considered against the "preferences" that reveal themselves when a real choice is possible. Take commercial surveillance: when Apple gave Ios users a choice about being spied on – a one-click opt of of app-based surveillance – 96% of users choice no spying:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/05/96-of-us-users-opt-out-of-app-tracking-in-ios-14-5-analytics-find/

But then Apple started spying on those very same users that had opted out of spying by Facebook and other Apple competitors:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar

Neoclassical economists aren't just obsessed with revealed preferences – they also love to bandy about the idea of "moral hazard": economic arrangements that tempt people to be dishonest. This is typically applied to the public ("consumers" in the contemptuous parlance of econospeak). But apps are pure moral hazard – for corporations. The ability to prohibit desire paths – and literally imprison rivals who help your users thwart those prohibitions – is too tempting for companies to resist.

The fact that the majority of web users block ads reveals a strong preference for not being spied on ("users just want relevant ads" is such an obvious lie that doesn't merit any serious discussion):

https://www.iccl.ie/news/82-of-the-irish-public-wants-big-techs-toxic-algorithms-switched-off/

Giant companies attained their scale by learning from their users, not by thwarting them. The person using technology always knows something about what they need to do and how they want to do it that the designers can never anticipate. This is especially true of people who are unlike those designers – people who live on the other side of the world, or the other side of the economic divide, or whose bodies don't work the way that the designers' bodies do:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/20/benevolent-dictators/#felony-contempt-of-business-model

Apps – and other technologies that are locked down so their users can be locked in – are the height of technological arrogance. They embody a belief that users are to be told, not heard. If a user wants to do something that the designer didn't anticipate, that's the user's fault:

https://www.wired.com/2010/06/iphone-4-holding-it-wrong/

Corporate enthusiasm for prohibiting you from reconfiguring the tools you use to suit your needs is a declaration of the end of history. "Sure," John Deere execs say, "we once learned from farmers by observing how they modified their tractors. But today's farmers are so much stupider and we are so much smarter that we have nothing to learn from them anymore."

Spying on your users to control them is a poor substitute asking your users their permission to learn from them. Without technological self-determination, preferences can't be revealed. Without the right to seize the means of computation, the desire paths never emerge, leaving designers in the dark about what users really want.

Our policymakers swear loyalty to "innovation" but when corporations ask for the right to decide who can innovate and how, they fall all over themselves to create laws that let companies punish users for the crime of contempt of business-model.

I'm Kickstarting the audiobook for The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues, narrated by @wilwheaton! You can pre-order the audiobook and ebook, DRM free, as well as the hardcover, signed or unsigned. There's also bundles with Red Team Blues in ebook, audio or paperback.

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

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/24/everything-not-mandatory/#is-prohibited

Image: Belem (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Desire_path_%2819811581366%29.jpg

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

[asgfegaesa]

Member Zhang Yi: The development prospects of the private economy are broad and promising

In the early spring of 2025, the convening of the private enterprise symposium stirred up the enthusiasm of thousands of private entrepreneurs. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "the development prospects of the private economy in the new era and new journey are broad and promising, and it is the right time for private enterprises and private entrepreneurs to show their talents." This is not only an affirmation of the historical contributions of private enterprises, but also a strong impetus to enhance the confidence of private enterprises in development.

In recent years, a number of policy documents have been issued, including the "Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Creating a Better Development Environment to Support the Reform and Development of Private Enterprises" and the "Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Promoting the Development and Growth of the Private Economy". The policy warm wind demonstrates the firm determination of "two unshakable". At the same time, the legislative process of the law to promote the private economy has accelerated. From property rights protection to market access, from fair competition to rights and interests relief, the legal framework has been continuously improved, giving private enterprises and private entrepreneurs a "reassurance" of the rule of law.

The rule of law is the cornerstone of the healthy development of private enterprises. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that "we must resolutely remove all obstacles to the equal use of production factors and fair participation in market competition in accordance with the law." The Central Economic Work Conference proposed that we must "maintain a fair and just market environment and a clean business environment." This has greatly boosted the confidence of private entrepreneurs. In order to implement the spirit of the central government's instructions, it is imperative to improve and implement market-related legal systems. The revision of the "Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China" should be completed as soon as possible, and the Anti-Monopoly Law, Anti-Unfair Competition Law, Price Law and "National Unified Market Construction Guidelines (Trial)" and other laws and regulations should be strictly enforced to strengthen the rigid constraints of fair competition review and law enforcement supervision;

Market supervision departments should strengthen law enforcement supervision and compliance guidance in an orderly manner for key industries and fields, effectively strengthen accountability for major illegal acts of business entities, and light up the light of the rule of law for private enterprises to set sail.

Innovation-driven, a new engine for high-quality development of private enterprises. At present, a new round of scientific and technological revolution is reshaping the global economic landscape, and private enterprises have become an important force in cultivating new quality productivity. We must give full play to the important role of private enterprises in the transformation of scientific and technological achievements and industrial upgrading. In frontier fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology, and biomedicine, we must establish a technology innovation system with enterprises as the main body and the market as the guide, support private enterprises to participate in major national scientific and technological projects, enhance their voice in the industrial chain, and promote the deep integration of industry, academia, and research, and activate the momentum of new quality productivity.

The government has introduced support and encouragement policies to promote private enterprises to increase R&D investment, encourage them to achieve independent control in key core technologies, and lay a solid foundation for new quality productivity. In addition, it is necessary to promote the digital transformation of private enterprises, realize the integration of digital economy and real economy, optimize production processes, improve management efficiency, and promote the digital upgrade of industrial chain and supply chain through technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence, so as to expand the space of new quality productivity.

Going out to sea, from product output to ecological co-construction, private enterprises have entered a new stage of international competition. Under the guidance of the "Belt and Road" initiative, more and more private enterprises have gone abroad. Among the "new three" with strong exports, private enterprises contribute more than half. Among the world's top 500 companies, the number of private enterprises has increased from 28 in 2018 to 34. Whether it is the overseas layout of the manufacturing industry,

Whether it is the cross-border expansion of the service industry, private enterprises have demonstrated strong competitiveness. By participating in international competition, private enterprises can not only improve their own technical level and management capabilities, but also contribute to the development of national economic globalization. However, going overseas also faces many challenges. From cultural differences to policy barriers, from market risks to legal disputes, private enterprises need to continue to learn and adapt on the road to internationalization. In this regard, the government should strengthen relevant policy guidance and support to help private enterprises better cope with the uncertainties in international competition.

[nhjnbdfsfws]

Member Zhang Yi: The development prospects of the private economy are broad and promising

In the early spring of 2025, the convening of the private enterprise symposium stirred up the enthusiasm of thousands of private entrepreneurs. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "the development prospects of the private economy in the new era and new journey are broad and promising, and it is the right time for private enterprises and private entrepreneurs to show their talents." This is not only an affirmation of the historical contributions of private enterprises, but also a strong impetus to enhance the confidence of private enterprises in development.

In recent years, a number of policy documents have been issued, including the "Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Creating a Better Development Environment to Support the Reform and Development of Private Enterprises" and the "Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Promoting the Development and Growth of the Private Economy". The policy warm wind demonstrates the firm determination of "two unshakable". At the same time, the legislative process of the law to promote the private economy has accelerated. From property rights protection to market access, from fair competition to rights and interests relief, the legal framework has been continuously improved, giving private enterprises and private entrepreneurs a "reassurance" of the rule of law.

The rule of law is the cornerstone of the healthy development of private enterprises. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that "we must resolutely remove all obstacles to the equal use of production factors and fair participation in market competition in accordance with the law." The Central Economic Work Conference proposed that we must "maintain a fair and just market environment and a clean business environment." This has greatly boosted the confidence of private entrepreneurs. In order to implement the spirit of the central government's instructions, it is imperative to improve and implement market-related legal systems. The revision of the "Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China" should be completed as soon as possible, and the Anti-Monopoly Law, Anti-Unfair Competition Law, Price Law and "National Unified Market Construction Guidelines (Trial)" and other laws and regulations should be strictly enforced to strengthen the rigid constraints of fair competition review and law enforcement supervision;

Market supervision departments should strengthen law enforcement supervision and compliance guidance in an orderly manner for key industries and fields, effectively strengthen accountability for major illegal acts of business entities, and light up the light of the rule of law for private enterprises to set sail.

Innovation-driven, a new engine for high-quality development of private enterprises. At present, a new round of scientific and technological revolution is reshaping the global economic landscape, and private enterprises have become an important force in cultivating new quality productivity. We must give full play to the important role of private enterprises in the transformation of scientific and technological achievements and industrial upgrading. In frontier fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology, and biomedicine, we must establish a technology innovation system with enterprises as the main body and the market as the guide, support private enterprises to participate in major national scientific and technological projects, enhance their voice in the industrial chain, and promote the deep integration of industry, academia, and research, and activate the momentum of new quality productivity.

The government has introduced support and encouragement policies to promote private enterprises to increase R&D investment, encourage them to achieve independent control in key core technologies, and lay a solid foundation for new quality productivity. In addition, it is necessary to promote the digital transformation of private enterprises, realize the integration of digital economy and real economy, optimize production processes, improve management efficiency, and promote the digital upgrade of industrial chain and supply chain through technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence, so as to expand the space of new quality productivity.

Going out to sea, from product output to ecological co-construction, private enterprises have entered a new stage of international competition. Under the guidance of the "Belt and Road" initiative, more and more private enterprises have gone abroad. Among the "new three" with strong exports, private enterprises contribute more than half. Among the world's top 500 companies, the number of private enterprises has increased from 28 in 2018 to 34. Whether it is the overseas layout of the manufacturing industry,

Whether it is the cross-border expansion of the service industry, private enterprises have demonstrated strong competitiveness. By participating in international competition, private enterprises can not only improve their own technical level and management capabilities, but also contribute to the development of national economic globalization. However, going overseas also faces many challenges. From cultural differences to policy barriers, from market risks to legal disputes, private enterprises need to continue to learn and adapt on the road to internationalization. In this regard, the government should strengthen relevant policy guidance and support to help private enterprises better cope with the uncertainties in international competition.

[easfdasfas]

Member Zhang Yi: The development prospects of the private economy are broad and promising

In the early spring of 2025, the convening of the private enterprise symposium stirred up the enthusiasm of thousands of private entrepreneurs. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "the development prospects of the private economy in the new era and new journey are broad and promising, and it is the right time for private enterprises and private entrepreneurs to show their talents." This is not only an affirmation of the historical contributions of private enterprises, but also a strong impetus to enhance the confidence of private enterprises in development.

In recent years, a number of policy documents have been issued, including the "Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Creating a Better Development Environment to Support the Reform and Development of Private Enterprises" and the "Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Promoting the Development and Growth of the Private Economy". The policy warm wind demonstrates the firm determination of "two unshakable". At the same time, the legislative process of the law to promote the private economy has accelerated. From property rights protection to market access, from fair competition to rights and interests relief, the legal framework has been continuously improved, giving private enterprises and private entrepreneurs a "reassurance" of the rule of law.

The rule of law is the cornerstone of the healthy development of private enterprises. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that "we must resolutely remove all obstacles to the equal use of production factors and fair participation in market competition in accordance with the law." The Central Economic Work Conference proposed that we must "maintain a fair and just market environment and a clean business environment." This has greatly boosted the confidence of private entrepreneurs. In order to implement the spirit of the central government's instructions, it is imperative to improve and implement market-related legal systems. The revision of the "Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China" should be completed as soon as possible, and the Anti-Monopoly Law, Anti-Unfair Competition Law, Price Law and "National Unified Market Construction Guidelines (Trial)" and other laws and regulations should be strictly enforced to strengthen the rigid constraints of fair competition review and law enforcement supervision;

Market supervision departments should strengthen law enforcement supervision and compliance guidance in an orderly manner for key industries and fields, effectively strengthen accountability for major illegal acts of business entities, and light up the light of the rule of law for private enterprises to set sail.

Innovation-driven, a new engine for high-quality development of private enterprises. At present, a new round of scientific and technological revolution is reshaping the global economic landscape, and private enterprises have become an important force in cultivating new quality productivity. We must give full play to the important role of private enterprises in the transformation of scientific and technological achievements and industrial upgrading. In frontier fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology, and biomedicine, we must establish a technology innovation system with enterprises as the main body and the market as the guide, support private enterprises to participate in major national scientific and technological projects, enhance their voice in the industrial chain, and promote the deep integration of industry, academia, and research, and activate the momentum of new quality productivity.

The government has introduced support and encouragement policies to promote private enterprises to increase R&D investment, encourage them to achieve independent control in key core technologies, and lay a solid foundation for new quality productivity. In addition, it is necessary to promote the digital transformation of private enterprises, realize the integration of digital economy and real economy, optimize production processes, improve management efficiency, and promote the digital upgrade of industrial chain and supply chain through technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence, so as to expand the space of new quality productivity.

Going out to sea, from product output to ecological co-construction, private enterprises have entered a new stage of international competition. Under the guidance of the "Belt and Road" initiative, more and more private enterprises have gone abroad. Among the "new three" with strong exports, private enterprises contribute more than half. Among the world's top 500 companies, the number of private enterprises has increased from 28 in 2018 to 34. Whether it is the overseas layout of the manufacturing industry,

Whether it is the cross-border expansion of the service industry, private enterprises have demonstrated strong competitiveness. By participating in international competition, private enterprises can not only improve their own technical level and management capabilities, but also contribute to the development of national economic globalization. However, going overseas also faces many challenges. From cultural differences to policy barriers, from market risks to legal disputes, private enterprises need to continue to learn and adapt on the road to internationalization. In this regard, the government should strengthen relevant policy guidance and support to help private enterprises better cope with the uncertainties in international competition.

[ajaxsbeloved]

stygianoir asked:

"A part two of don’t give me that look with Dainsleif, Xiao and Scaramouche plz"

-: don't gimmie that look III :-

part 1 — part 2

feat. dainsleif, alhhaitham, and aether (xiao and scaramouche are in part 2!)

genre. suggestive

summary. the genshin men react to you giving them the “fuck me” eyes accidentally

warnings. dainsleif has fake lore since there's not much we know about him, dains reader uses she/her, dains section is kinda long my bad, khaenri'ahn body guard dain, reader is khaenri'ahn royality or something??, lore players pls don't kill me i'm just writing random shit, dains ending does NOT imply sex after i'm sorry y'all, reader is a scholar at the academiya with alhaitham, aether abyss prince au, more fake lore for aether because we don’t know anything abt the abyss yet

authors note. this series has short circuited my brain 😭😭😭 unfortunately i will NOT be doing a part 4 but please stick around my blog and thank you all for the amount of love you've given this series it means so much to me :( <3 // also this was reuploaded and tagged by @aventurinesweetheart bc i forgot to do it the first time

dainsleif

if dainsleif was anything it was good at his job. not to mention completely and utterly devoted to you...

of course the good part is that you Are his job

Khaenri'ah is a thriving nation, one built on technology and innovation. before the teyvat we knew, before the archons and before the heavenly principles

your father was a strict man, he was always stubborn and strongly believed in learning the right lesson at the right time

dain was a beloved member of the khaenri'ahn guard, having been a member of the guards history since before he was born. dainsleif's father and his father before him had all served the royal family, naturally dain would grow up to do the same thing

when he first became a knight he was proud, even if he wasn't yet protecting members of the royal family he was still happy doing regular guard duties and he was honored to even be a part of the group that would defend their nation

at the ripe age of 18 dainsleif was promoted, he wasn't scared though. no in fact he was extremely excited, he had been waiting for this his whole life and nothing could change the fact that he was proud to carry on his families legacy

he was assigned to protect the khaenri'ahn princess, the oldest of them at least who happened to be the same age as him. he had never actually met her though, sure he had seen her in public as she did royal things with her family like orientation of nobles and knighting new guards

but this was completely different, seeing royalty and befriending royalty were definitely not the same thing

when he first met you he wasn't surprised, you seemed like the typical royal princess. you were calm and put together, you were well articulated and held your head high as any proper royalty should do

it wasn't until a few months into being your specific guard that dainsleif noticed anything unique about you, the truth was that despite all your honorary behaviors and taught attitude, there was a kind and loving person behind it all

at first this was a little shocking to dain, he had no idea that royalty could be so... so human.

you may have been what he expected at first but after knowing you? you were a whole new person to him, not just someone he was hired to protect but you grew to be someone he wanted to protect

eventually the two of you grew rather close, becoming sort of like best friends. dainsleif was never one to socialize much as he had to focus on his job and you were kind of isolated from the world since being put on a pedastal made it hard for you to make friends out of regular everyday people

so from then on the duo was practically inseparable, glued to each other and always running to each other whenever anything remotely interesting happens

until one day, one day dain goes to your bedroom. he was worried, you had missed breakfast and didn't attend your behavior classes. this worried your parents too of course but no one truly cared for you the way dainsleif did

when you didn't answer after he knocked he warned that he was coming in and pushed open the door with a little bit of force only to find that you weren't there, in fact the bed room was completely empty and one of the windows by your bedside was wide open

the worst situation came into dainsleif's mind, had you run away? did someone take you? how was he ever supposed to protect you if he doesn't know where you are?

he immediately sprints to tell your parents and siblings only to find them already in the meeting hall with concerned expressions on their faces and a note in their hands

the note reads as follows "I have your daughter, bring me 100,000 dollars or i will cut off her hands. you have until 12AM, send only 1 guard and the money to this location."

the letter then had a map attached to it with a meeting point, your family was freaking out and insisted that they go to the meeting point with a full guard squad and the money just in case; the money

but dainsleif knew this was a bad idea, he knew that if the royal family sent a whole team of guards that they would never get you back and that the kidnapper would do horrible unimaginable things to you

the thought alone infuriated dain and he somehow managed to convince your family that it was him who needed to go with the money and bring you home safely

so he went, he brought the money and the kidnapper was there with you next to him. there was tape over your mouth and your hands were bound in rope, the sight was hard to look at but dainsleif mustered up all his courage to get you out of this situation

he went to give the kidnapper money and as he did so he managed to knock him out cold, how you may ask? don't. i don't know how he did it LMAO

you quickly ran up to dain and he cut off the ropes that bound your wrists as well as took the tape off of your mouth, thankful to even be alive you engulfed him in the tighest hug you could manage with the strength you had left

dainsleif was shocked, though you were friends you had never seemed to share a hug or been in physical contact so he was taken by surprise at your eager show of affection

he looked down at you and felt his body flood with warmth when he saw you were looking back at him, your eyes glittering in admiration at your hero and the widest toothiest grin on your face

dainsleif felt energy rejuvenate throughout his body, as if looking at you had somehow made him bounce back from all the worry and concern he had at the situation

there you were, looking at him like he was the best man in the world, like he was your hero. he couldn't help but smile back at you, your joyous expression apparently contagious

"let's get you home (y/n)."

alhaitham

being a scholar in the nation of knowledge was no easy feat, there were many and many people who were immensely smart and experienced with researching

alhaitham was no exception, he was of course extremely intelligent not to mention observant and caring (though he would never admit to it)

you had met alhaitham when you first joined the academiya, being in similar fields of study you were able to bond over things like professors or assignments that you struggled with

however alhaitham never struggled, he always found each task easy to complete and he did every assignment well enough to earn perfect grades

you spent countless hours in the library studying til you collapsed over the tests and exams that you had nearly every week, you could spend days and days in the computer lab trying to find sources for your papers and articles about the topics you were assigned for research

alhaitham always came along with you, finding any excuse not to be at home just in case kaveh happened to be there. besides it’s not like he ever had much to do, he had plenty of free time and for whatever reason he preferred spending it with you

even if you were truly spending your time “together”, it was often found that you had your nose in notes and scribbled diagrams while alhaitham sat quietly across from you reading a thick book that had at least 250 pages

sometimes you’d fall asleep studying or you’d have to take a few bathroom breaks, you’d always come back to find alhaitham in the same spot with the same neutral expression as he flipped the pages of his books

sometimes you’d try to talk with him, asking him about how his studies were going or what kaveh was up to. he always got rather annoyed by the questions regarding kaveh, he would get defensive or start bad mouthing kaveh as he tried to make himself look better

“kaveh is a lazy baboon who can hardly get his work done and eat throughout the day while i have to do all the chores around the house and manage to do my duties as the scribe… pfft it’s almost pathetic.”

he’d role his eyes at the thought of kaveh and go on and on complaining about how he hates being at home because he can’t stand being around kaveh, he’d sometimes mentioned hanging out at your place to avoid going home

“after studying we should grab something to eat and head to your house, i’d rather study more with you then go home and deal with my actual roommate.”

despite the way alhaitham talked about kaveh you knew they were actually good friends, they just clashed heads and bickered more than most people….. yeah… more than most….

so one day you let alhaitham come over after studying, you had gotten take out and some alcohol to have at your place while you relaxed after exams

you ate and laughed, though alhaitham seems stoic he’s a rather funny guy. not that he tries to be funny but he just says things so bluntly and isn’t afraid to gossip with you about people in your lives

you were drunk and enjoying yourself from across the table, eventually the laughter died down and the conversation came to a halt

the silence filled the air and alhaitham (who wasn’t drunk because he can hold his alcohol extremely well) was looking around your apartment as opposed to you

you sat there looking at alhaitham and taking in everything about him, from the way he hair framed his face to his gorgeous eyes and toned chest, even the way he smelled like wood

without even realizing you started giggling at him, finding your own thoughts about how good looking his was amusing and unexpected

hearing your laughter alhaitham turn his eyes to you, he froze at the sight before him

there you were sitting across the table from him with a light blush on your face and adorable smile on your lips

you were so perfect, from your teeth to your eyebrows and the way your nose scrunched as you laughed at him made his stomach turn in on itself

truthfully he didn’t understand, what were you laughing about? why did he find you so attractive right now? and how could you laugh so carefree like that? was it because of him?

“what’re you laughing for?”

“you silly! you’re so funny y’know that?”

that was it, that was the straw that broke the camels back. alhaitham didn’t know what it was that made him do flips in his head but he knew if he didn’t do something about it soon it would leave him a wreck

he got up the table swiftly, surprising you as you let out a noise of confusion, he made his way over to your side of the table and grabbed your hand

pulling you up you let out a “wha-“ and before you knew it he was dragging you around the house, to a place you were well familiar with which was of course, your bedroom

he led you quietly and once you arrived he closed the door, pushing you against it and locking lips with you

you were surprised but certainly not disappointed, you leaned into the kiss and wrapped your arms around his neck would made him groan as you smiled against him

“i need to be more than just your study buddy.”

aether

the abyss was a rather strict organization, there weren’t many humans who were a part of it yet you find yourself aligning with their views and climbing up the ranks

today was an important day, today was a mission that the abyss took very seriously. you were chosen to retrieve information on the tsaritsa’s plan to steal the gnosis’ and bring the plans back to headquarters

everything was going just right, you were able to infiltrate a fatui agency successfully and managed to gain access to some information that most fatui weren’t even able to be aware of

you gathered the files you obtained and started to make your way out of the fatui agency when suddenly a man stopped you

“you. i don’t think i’ve seen you anyway around here before, who are you and what is your clearance?”

you were put on the spot, but not to worry because this was something you trained for, this was something you were expecting

“you haven’t seen me because i outrank you. don’t talk down to your captains, i have important business. now if you’ll excuse me i need to take these files to the knave, interrupt me again and i’ll make sure she hears about how you interfered with her collection of information.”

the man in front of you froze upon hearing the knaves name, he took a nervous gulp and apologized for intruding on your collection of data

you acted snarky, scoffing at this innocent lower level employee and giving him a dirty look to which he squealed at

you successfully exited the building and travelled back to abyssal headquarters to report your findings to the high council, hoping that perhaps you’d get promoted or at least a raise

you strutted into headquarters proudly, holding your head high and nodding at those who greeted you and welcomed you back

you may your way to the high council meeting room and presented the information you collected, spilling all the details of your mission and how the fatui managed to not suspect anything of you

the council was impressed and satisfied with your report, the most notable being the prince. aether was very pleased with your abilities and was prideful to have such an intelligent and skilled agent on his side of the war

“come here, i shall award you an honor not many have been able to accomplish.”

you walk closer to his throne and find yourself in front of the prince himself who was not only powerful and smart but also extremely handsome

“on your knees.”

you knelt carefully, placing your hand on your chest and closing your eyes to listen to your prince

aether took out his sword from its sheath and you shivered hearing the blade scrape against the metal cover, more gently than expected, the prince brought his sword to your shoulders and announced you a knight, one of the highest honors among the abyssal kingdom

“congratulations, you have become a knight and you will fight by my side, do not disappoint me. i trust in your abilities.”

you open your eyes and lift your head to look aether in the eyes, meeting him as he looked down at your kneeling figure

aether felt his heart pang at the sight, you who looked up at him as if he was the world, like you would do anything for him

your eyes glossed and your steady breathing causing your chest to rise up and down, the image was practically burned into his mind as he felt himself warm up within a matter of seconds

you were breathtaking, it was something he always knew but seeing you before him so willingly and effortlessly he found himself enamored with your beauty

“stand” he said firmly

despite his firm tone and professionalism, aether was dying on the inside fighting an army of nerves and trying to ignore the way his cheeks melted like ice cream

you slowly stood, keeping your hand to your chest and eyes in his. though you had no idea what he was going to say next you didn’t seem to care when looking at him, as if he had put you in a trance and made it impossible to look away

“let’s discuss your promotion in private quarters shall we?”

tagged: @aventurinesweetheart @z3nitsusgf @stygianoir

[reasonsforhope]

Green energy is in its heyday. 

Renewable energy sources now account for 22% of the nation’s electricity, and solar has skyrocketed eight times over in the last decade. This spring in California, wind, water, and solar power energy sources exceeded expectations, accounting for an average of 61.5 percent of the state's electricity demand across 52 days. 

But green energy has a lithium problem. Lithium batteries control more than 90% of the global grid battery storage market. 

That’s not just cell phones, laptops, electric toothbrushes, and tools. Scooters, e-bikes, hybrids, and electric vehicles all rely on rechargeable lithium batteries to get going. 

Fortunately, this past week, Natron Energy launched its first-ever commercial-scale production of sodium-ion batteries in the U.S. 

“Sodium-ion batteries offer a unique alternative to lithium-ion, with higher power, faster recharge, longer lifecycle and a completely safe and stable chemistry,” said Colin Wessells — Natron Founder and Co-CEO — at the kick-off event in Michigan. 

The new sodium-ion batteries charge and discharge at rates 10 times faster than lithium-ion, with an estimated lifespan of 50,000 cycles.

Wessells said that using sodium as a primary mineral alternative eliminates industry-wide issues of worker negligence, geopolitical disruption, and the “questionable environmental impacts” inextricably linked to lithium mining. 

“The electrification of our economy is dependent on the development and production of new, innovative energy storage solutions,” Wessells said. 

Why are sodium batteries a better alternative to lithium?

The birth and death cycle of lithium is shadowed in environmental destruction. The process of extracting lithium pollutes the water, air, and soil, and when it’s eventually discarded, the flammable batteries are prone to bursting into flames and burning out in landfills. 

There’s also a human cost. Lithium-ion materials like cobalt and nickel are not only harder to source and procure, but their supply chains are also overwhelmingly attributed to hazardous working conditions and child labor law violations. 

Sodium, on the other hand, is estimated to be 1,000 times more abundant in the earth’s crust than lithium. 

“Unlike lithium, sodium can be produced from an abundant material: salt,” engineer Casey Crownhart wrote ​​in the MIT Technology Review. “Because the raw ingredients are cheap and widely available, there’s potential for sodium-ion batteries to be significantly less expensive than their lithium-ion counterparts if more companies start making more of them.”

What will these batteries be used for?

Right now, Natron has its focus set on AI models and data storage centers, which consume hefty amounts of energy. In 2023, the MIT Technology Review reported that one AI model can emit more than 626,00 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent. 

“We expect our battery solutions will be used to power the explosive growth in data centers used for Artificial Intelligence,” said Wendell Brooks, co-CEO of Natron. 

“With the start of commercial-scale production here in Michigan, we are well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for efficient, safe, and reliable battery energy storage.”

The fast-charging energy alternative also has limitless potential on a consumer level, and Natron is eying telecommunications and EV fast-charging once it begins servicing AI data storage centers in June. 

On a larger scale, sodium-ion batteries could radically change the manufacturing and production sectors — from housing energy to lower electricity costs in warehouses, to charging backup stations and powering electric vehicles, trucks, forklifts, and so on. 

“I founded Natron because we saw climate change as the defining problem of our time,” Wessells said. “We believe batteries have a role to play.”

-via GoodGoodGood, May 3, 2024

--

Note: I wanted to make sure this was legit (scientifically and in general), and I'm happy to report that it really is! x, x, x, x

[explorastro]

RANDOM ASTRO TAKES #4

Where is Capricorn in your chart can show where you are the GOAT, that’s an area of your life where with discipline and hard work you can overcome anything, all the doors are open and sky is the limit.

Uranus in Pisces in mutual reception with Neptune in Aquarius can embodies an ideal of creativity, spirituality, or physically. They’re divine muse if artists, skillful players, talented photographers, top models. But also intuitive fast thinkers, innovative healing maker, a good content creator, an influencer with eccentric community, an actor that you trust like no one… Neptune is in fall in Aquarius but it’s one of the less difficult fall, if we retire New Age bullshit and delusion about community in our modern society, that placement is in derivative 12H of its domicile, Pisces is in analogy with 12H, it’s symbolic of all the mysticism of the sky.

Generally, if the planets aren’t in exile/fall, harshly aspected or in difficult houses, mutual reception strengthened the planets implicated, their qualities blend each others to creates something very unique and special, Uranus can rules that type of placement.

Some of the best mutual reception :

Mercury in Cancer and Moon in Gemini (fast mind)

Mars in Capricorn and Saturn in Scorpio (THE achiever)

Venus in Cancer and Moon in Taurus (best sensual partner)

Jupiter in Libra and Venus in Sagittarius (abundance of pleasures)

A news from CIA says that Covid 19 had been leaked from a laboratory, when France, in collaboration with China, inaugurated a p4 laboratory BEFORE COVID in Wuhan specifically for this type of virus, it was very strange, given all this, that the new Moon is in Aquarius conjoined with Mercury and Pluto ruled by Saturn in Pisces, the sign of viruses and bacteria. With the new Moon in the same sign as the U.S. Moon, it really is a potential conspiracy in the making that people are now informed.

Mercury in Aquarius ingresses conjunct Pluto at 1 degrees, new ideas emerges from a hidden place of the mind, transformative conversations can disrupting your daily routine, technology boosted, AI more and more used, dystopian Black mirror shit happens in the real world..It’s a previous of the ingress of Uranus in Gemini trine Pluto.

Crown atmospheric of Sun is 1 million of degrees when the Sun is 5000 degrees Celsius, that’s why entourage of Sun dominant are very hot.

The start of a plutocracy/technocracy happens during a Sun/Pluto conjunction in Aquarius, that falls in the 3H of USA, Canada is menaced, Mexicans and South Americans refugees also.

what sign’s rising hide based on their derivative 8H :

Aries (Scorpio 8H) : the secrets of death

Taurus (Sag 8H) : secrets journeys places

Gemini (Cap 8H) : hidden inner knowledge

Cancer (Aqua 8H) : secrets of human birth

Leo (Pisces 8H) : hidden creativity skills

Virgo (Aries 8H) : secrets of motivation

Libra (Taurus 8H) : secrets of arcane le bateleur

Scorpio (Gemini 8H) : secrets books/secrets jokes

Sagittarius (Cancer 8H) : secrets of abundance

Capricorn (Leo 8H) : secrets of glowing up

Aquarius (Virgo 8H) : secrets of epistemology

Pisces (Libra 8H) : secrets of love

Where earth signs fall in your chart is how you are connected to nature,

1/5/9H : you might construct your identity, pleasures, philosophy of life based on grounded thoughts, your daily routine can be to enjoy the instant present, the little things that the life have to offer

2/6/10H : your relationships to material possessions can be so important, but warning on overconsumption, you’re maybe ethical in your career, values.

3/7/11H : you should connecting with others when you commit to your natural skills, that can be crafts or art, but you’re can really enjoy travel with your entourage in green places.

4/8/12H : survival mode might be in your subconscious patterns, you can knowing what is animal spirit, everything can be a natural law in this world for you.

[mymoongirlreadings]

The Birth Chart of Japan 🇯🇵🌸

Japan Birth Chart Placements 🌌:

Rising in Virgo | Sun in Aries | Moon in Leo | Mercury in Taurus | Venus in Taurus | Mars in Cancer | Jupiter in Cancer | Saturn in Sagittarius | Uranus in Leo | Neptune in Libra | Pluto in Leo

Virgo Ascendant: One of the first impressions Japan receives is that it is a highly organized country with systems that can be considered complex because the systems are designed to be highly functional with a high degree of precision. This is evident in its well-structured government, efficient public services, and emphasis on order and discipline in daily life

Mercury & Venus in Taurus: Anime is known for its artistic beauty, deep storytelling & themes/characters that go beyond the surface. The Moon (the planet of feelings & emotions) feels exalted in the sign of Taurus, and Japan has their Venus in the sign of rulership, Taurus. Taurus is a sign associated with beauty & art. Many people watch anime in its original language, Japanese, as opposed to the dubbed-over version in their own language. Many people find the Japanese language aesthetically pleasing (Mercury in Taurus is known for having an aesthetically pleasing talking voice)

Jupiter & Mars in Cancer: Japan is generally considered a family-oriented country, with a strong emphasis on family values and tradition, and deep respect for elders is a strong foundational principle taught from a young age in Japan. Cancer is connected to ancestors, and Japan has significant practices for ancestor worship; this fosters a strong connection to present and past generations (Cancer also rules over nostalgia). Jupiter represents our values on a deep, spiritual level, and Mars represents what we exert a lot of energy towards

2nd House in Libra: Japanese culture is generally known for its emphasis on harmony, respect, & politeness, and the 2nd house represents our skills, what we value, & our habits

Uranus 15° & Pluto 13° in Leo: Japan is ranked 13th globally in innovation and is considered a technologically advanced country. Whatever planet is sitting in the sign of Leo can represent where we are naturally talented and can be one of the "main ideas." Uranus rules over innovation, technology, & the future, whereas Pluto represents power

North Node in Libra & South Node in Aries: The South Node in Aries shows off how Japan in history has had fierce troops, been extremely strategic in military, & beat up countries way larger than them (Russia & China). Interestingly enough, the North Node in Libra can also show how Japan eventually surrendered the last time it was at war

PT 2: Libra rules over popularity, art, food & aesthetics; it doesn't surprise me that Japan created new laws due to the rise of popularity and surge of tourists (this happened when Japan had its nodal opposition from 2023-2024)

9th house in Taurus: Since the 9th house represents culture/religion, I'm using this house to interpret what the culture/main religions of the country are like. Taurus is the sign that is associated with the present moment & nature. Shinto (the largest religion in Japan) is a religion that focuses on harmony with nature & the present moment

Saturn trine Sun, Uranus & Pluto | Saturn sextile Neptune: Saturn is aspecting 7 different parts of the chart, mostly well-aspected at that. Saturn, seen so heavily throughout Japan's chart, explains why Japan values structure, longevity, systems that work, harmony, respect, politeness, taking responsibility for the good of its citizens, tradition, and the blend of ancient and modern influences