#2022 writing evaluation

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Return to office and dying on the job

Denise Prudhomme's bosses at Wells Fargo insisted that the in-person camaraderie of their offices warranted a mandatory return-to-office policy, but when she died at her desk in her Tempe, AZ office, no one noticed for four days.

That was in August. Now, Wells Fargo United has published a statement on her death, one that vibrates with anger at the callously selective surveillance that Wells Fargo inflicts on its workforce:

https://www.reddit.com/r/WellsFargoUnited/comments/1fnp9fa/please_print_and_take_to_your_managersite_leader/

The union points out that Wells Fargo workers are subjected to continuous, fine-grained on-the-job surveillance from a variety of bossware tools that count their keystrokes and create tables of the distancess their mice cross each day:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/24/gwb-rumsfeld-monsters/#bossware

Wells Fargo's message to its workforce is, "You can't be trusted," a policy that Wells Fargo doubled down on with its Return to Office mandate. Return to Office is often pitched as a chance to improve teamwork, communication, and human connection with your co-workers, and there's no arguing with the idea that spending some time in person with people can help improve working relationships (I attended a week-long, all-hands, staff retreat for EFF earlier this month and it was fantastic, primarily due to its in-person nature).

But our bosses don't want us back in the office because they enjoy our company, nor because they're so excited about having hired such a swell bunch of folks and can't wait to see how we all get along together. As John Quiggin writes, the biggest reason to force us back to the office is to get a bunch of us to quit:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/sep/26/in-their-plaintive-call-for-a-return-to-the-office-ceos-reveal-how-little-they-are-needed

As one of Musk's toadies put it in a private message before the Twitter takeover, "Sharpen your blades boys. 2 day a week Office requirement = 20% voluntary departures":

https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/29/elon-musk-texts-discovery-twitter/

The other reason to spy on us is because they don't trust us. Remember all the panic about "quiet quitting" and "no one wants to work"? Bosses' hypothesis was that eking out a bare minimum living on from a couple of small-dollar covid stimulus checks was preferable to working for them for a full paycheck.

Every accusation is a a confession. When your boss tells you that he thinks that you can't be trusted to do a good job without total, constant surveillance, he's really saying, "I only bother to do my CEO job when I'm afraid of getting fired':

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/19/make-them-afraid/#fear-is-their-mind-killer

As Wells Fargo United notes, Wells Fargo employees like Denise Prudhomme are spied on from the moment they set foot in the building until the moment they clock out (and sometimes the spying continues when you're off the clock):

Wells Fargo monitors our every move and keystroke using remote, electronic technologies—purportedly to evaluate our productivity—and will fire us if we are caught not making enough keystrokes on our computers.

The Arizona Republic coverage notes further that Prudhomme had to log her comings and goings from the Wells Fargo offices with a badge, so Wells Fargo could see that Prudhomme had entered the premises four days before, but hadn't left:

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/tempe-breaking/2024/09/23/wells-fargo-employees-union-responds-death-tempe-woman/75352015007/

Wells Fargo has mandated in-person working, even when that means crossing a state line to be closer to the office. They've created "hub cities" where workers are supposed to turn up. This may sound convivial, but Prudhomme was the only member of her team working out of the Tempe hub, so she was being asked to leave her home, travel long distances, and spend her days in a distant corner of the building where no one ventured for periods of (at least) four days at a time.

Bosses are so convinced that they themselves would goof off if they could that they fixate on forcing employees to spend their days in the office, no matter what the cost. Back in March 2020, Charter CEO Tom Rutledge – then the highest-paid CEO in America – instituted a policy that every back office staffer had to work in person at his call centers. This was the most deadly phase of the pandemic, there was no PPE to speak of, we didn't understand transmission very well, and vaccines didn't exist yet. Charter is a telecommunications company and it was booming as workers across America upgraded their broadband so they could work from home, and the CEO's response was to ban remote work. His customer service centers were superspreading charnel houses:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/18/diy-tp/#sociopathy

That Wells Fargo would leave a dead employee at her desk for four days is par for the course for the third-largest commercial bank in America. This is Wells Fargo, remember, the company that forced its low-level bank staff to open two million fake accounts in order to steal from their customers and defraud their shareholders, then fired and blackballed staff who complained:

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/09/26/495454165/ex-wells-fargo-employees-sue-allege-they-were-punished-for-not-breaking-law

The executive who ran that swindle got a $125 million bonus:

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2016/09/wells-fargo-ceos-teflon-don-act-backfires-at-senate-hearing-i-take-full-responsibility-means-anything-but.html

And the CEO got $200 million:

https://money.cnn.com/2016/09/21/investing/wells-fargo-fired-workers-retaliation-fake-accounts/index.html

It's not like Wells Fargo treats its workers badly but does well by everyone else. Remember, those fake accounts existed as part of a fraud on the company's investors. The company went on to steal $76m from its customers on currency conversions. They also foreclosed on customers who were up to date on their mortgages, seizing and selling off all their possessions. They argued that when bosses pressured tellers into forging customers on fraudulent account-opening paperwork, that those customers had lost their right to sue, since the fraudulent paperwork had a binding arbitration clause. When they finally agreed to pay restitution to their victims, they made the payments opt-in, ensuring that most of the millions of people they stole from would never get their money back.

They stole millions with fraudulent "home warranties." They stole millions from small businesses with fake credit-card fees. They defrauded 800,000 customers through an insurance scam, and stole 25,000 customers' cars with illegal repos. They led the pre-2008 pack on mis-selling deceptive mortgages that blew up and triggered the foreclosure epidemic. They loaned vast sums to Trump, who slashed their taxes, and then they fired 26.000 workers and did a $40.6B stock buyback. They stole 525 homes from mortgage borrowers and blamed it on a "computer glitch":

https://pluralistic.net/2021/09/29/jubilance/#too-big-to-jail

Given all this, two things are obvious: first, if anyone is going to be monitored for crimes, fraud and scams, it should be Wells Fargo, not its workers. Second, Wells Fargo's surveillance system exists solely to terrorize workers, not to help them. As Wells Fargo United writes:

We demand improved safety precautions that are not punitive or cause further stress for employees. The solution is not more monitoring, but ensuring that we are all connected to a supportive work environment instead of warehoused away in a back office.

Tor Books as just published two new, free LITTLE BROTHER stories: VIGILANT, about creepy surveillance in distance education; and SPILL, about oil pipelines and indigenous landback.

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/2024/09/27/sharpen-your-blades-boys/#disciplinary-technology

[literaryvein-reblogs]

I love your writing notes for horses and cats. Could I request one for dogs?

Writing Notes: Dogs & their Personalities

Many people have preconceived notions about different dog breeds’ behavioral quirks.

Golden retrievers are seen as playful and affectionate, and pit bulls can be viewed as hostile and aggressive.

Chihuahuas are labeled yappy and temperamental, whereas bulldogs are described as easygoing and sociable.

But in a study published in Science, Morrill and her colleagues (2022) show that a dog’s breed is not a good predictor of behavior. They propose that most behavioral trends in dog types predate modern breeding, which primarily altered physical appearance.

Dog Breeds. People have been breeding dogs since prehistoric times.

The earliest dog breeders used wolves to create domestic dogs.

From the beginning, humans purposefully bred dogs to perform various tasks.

The following are thought to be among the earliest jobs eagerly performed by the animal destined to be called “man’s best friend.”

Hunting

Guarding

Herding

When is a "breed" a breed and not just a kind or type of dog? The simplest way to define a breed is to say it always “breeds true.”

That is, breeding a purebred Irish Setter to another purebred Irish Setter will always produce dogs instantly recognizable as Irish Setters.

Each breed’s ideal physical traits, movement, and temperament are set down in a written document called a “breed standard.”

The American Kennel Club standard for each breed originates with a “parent club,” the AKC-recognized national club devoted to a particular breed.

Once approved by the AKC, a standard becomes both the breeder’s “blueprint” and the instrument used by dog show judges to evaluate a breeder’s work.

There are over 340 dog breeds known throughout the world.

The AKC recognizes 200 breeds.

Herding Group

Up until 1983, the breeds in the Herding Group were part of the Working Group.

They share an instinctual ability to control the movement of other animals.

These breeds were developed to: gather, herd and protect livestock.

Today, some like the Belgian Malinois and the German Shepherd Dog are commonly used for police and protection work.

The herding instinct in these breeds is so strong that Herding breeds have been known to gently herd their owners, especially the children of the family.

In general, these intelligent dogs make excellent companions and respond beautifully to training exercises.

Hound Group

Most hounds share the common ancestral trait of being used for hunting.

Some use acute scenting powers to follow a trail.

Others demonstrate a phenomenal gift of stamina as they relentlessly run down quarry. Beyond this, however, generalizations about hounds are hard to come by, since the Group encompasses quite a diverse lot.

There are Pharaoh Hounds, Norwegian Elkhounds, Afghans, Beagles etc.

Some hounds share the distinct ability to produce a unique sound known as baying. You'd best sample this sound before you decide to get a hound of your own to be sure it's your cup of tea.

Miscellaneous

This includes dog breeds that are currently part of the AKC’s Foundation Stock Service but have not yet been officially recognized by the organization or placed in a breed group.

Therefore, the breeds in this group do not have anything in common in terms of size, shape, or personality.

Non-Sporting Group

Non-Sporting dogs are made up of a diverse group of breeds with varying sizes, coats, personalities and overall appearance. They come from a wide variety of backgrounds so it is hard to generalize about this group of dogs.

From the sturdy Chow Chow, to the compact French Bulldog and the foxlike Keeshond, the differences in features can be vast.

Most are good watchdogs and housedogs.

Other breeds in this group are the ever-popular Dalmatian, Poodle and Lhasa Apso, and the less common Schipperke and Tibetan Spaniel.

Sporting Group

Naturally active and alert, these dogs make likeable, well-rounded companions.

First developed to work closely with hunters to locate and/or retrieve quarry. There are 4 basic types of Sporting dogs: Spaniels, Pointers, Retrievers, and Setters.

Known for their superior instincts in water and woods, many of these breeds enjoy hunting and other field activities.

Many of them, especially the water-retrieving breeds, have well–insulated water repellant coats, which are quite resilient to the elements.

Most require regular, invigorating exercise.

Terrier Group

Feisty and energetic are two of the primary traits that come to mind for those who have experience with Terriers. In fact, many describe their distinct personalities as “eager for a spirited argument.”

Bred to hunt, kill vermin and to guard their families home or barn; sizes range from fairly small, as in the Norfolk, Cairn or West Highland White Terrier, to the larger and grand Airedale Terrier.

Prospective owners should know that terriers make great pets, but they do require determination on the part of the owner because they can be stubborn; have high energy levels, and require special grooming (known as “stripping”) to maintain a characteristic appearance.

Toy Group

They might be short on size, but they are definitely not short on personality! Breeds in the Toy group are affectionate, sociable and adaptable to a wide range of lifestyles.

Just don't let their size and winsome expressions fool you: they are smart, full of energy and many have strong protective instincts.

Toy dogs are popular with city dwellers because they make ideal apartment dogs and terrific lap warmers on nippy nights.

Working Group

Quick to learn, this group is intelligent, strong, watchful, and alert.

Bred to assist man, they excel at jobs such as guarding property, pulling sleds and performing water rescues.

Doberman Pinschers, Siberian Huskies and Great Danes are part of this Group, to name just a few.

They make wonderful companions but because they are large, and naturally protective, prospective owners need to properly train and socialize a dog.

Some breeds in the Working Group may not be for the first-time dog owner.

Dog's Emotions. According to Dr. Erin Hecht and her team on The Canine Brains Project at Harvard University, dogs do feel and express emotions.

However, assigning human words and root causes to these emotions isn’t always the best way to describe them.

“On one hand, it can be helpful to use words like “jealousy” for conceptualizing and relating to dogs’ feelings,” says Dr. Julia Espinosa, a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow who studies how genes, the brain, and life experiences influence fear and reactivity in dogs.

But anthropomorphizing—assigning human feelings to animals—carries the risk of missing signals that more accurately explain your dog’s feelings and needs.

A better approach involves considering your dog’s feelings on a scale of very negative to very positive.

“What’s the smartest dog?” the question Dr. Hecht gets asked most — she has the science to back up her diplomatic answer: “This research suggests there’s not one type of canine intelligence,” she said. “There are multiple types.”

Dogs express their emotions all the time through body language like tail wagging, ear position, and subtle facial expressions.

Emotions that dogs and people may experience similarly include:

Fear

Frustration

Attachment

Playfulness

Joy

Puppies may begin developing feelings as early as 3 weeks of age. Around this time, they:

Startle when hearing loud noises, which suggests they feel fear.

Show signs of sadness or distress when away from their mom or littermates.

Begin initiating play during their critical period for socialization, when they’re between 3 and 12 weeks old. This behavior is likely influenced by positive emotions, such as happiness, Barton says.

Wolves also have similar brain structures and likely experience most of the same emotions, too. They aren’t domesticated, though, so they express these feelings toward other wolves, not humans.

Love. Technically speaking, “love” is a human concept—but you can gauge your relationship with your dog by strength of your bond and the level of trust between you. Even though dogs don’t experience love in the same way as humans, they still form strong social bonds with their favorite humans, says Dr. Olivia Reilly, a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellow examining how hormones like oxytocin influence attachment bonds between dogs and children. Experts believe oxytocin, a hormone released during social interactions, helps promote the formation of strong social bonds—and some evidence suggests dogs experience a surge of oxytocin when gazing into a favorite person’s eyes.

Fear. Dogs have the same hormones that play a role in the human stress response. This suggests they likely experience fear and anxiety in much the same way as humans do—although, of course, dogs and humans generally don’t fear the same things.

Sadness, anxiety, or depression. Dogs are very good at picking up on and mimicking human emotions. Actually, they’re a little too good at mimicking human emotions, says Dr. Nicholas Dragolea, certified dog behavior consultant and founder of Fetched. When a dog senses their pet parent is feeling sad or anxious, they’re likely to feel sad or anxious themselves. This is called emotional contagion. Dogs can also become sad, anxious, or depressed due to a change in their environment, including the loss of another pet or human. Changes from a dog’s baseline behaviors can be signs of emotional distress, according to Dr. Dragolea. For example, a dog who suddenly loses interest in going for walks, playing fetch, or eating may be feeling blue.

Other hurt feelings. Dogs don’t have the same capacity for abstract thought as humans. So while they may experience fear and emotions similar to jealousy, they likely won’t dwell on those events or feel resentment or embarrassment. Emotions like jealousy relate to a dog’s primal instinct to protect resources, including their pet parents, according to Dr. Dragolea. That’s why, if your dog catches you giving attention to another dog, they may consider this a threat and adjust their behavior accordingly. Even so, this doesn’t mean your dog’s feelings were hurt. What you interpret as hurt feelings may instead be more of a learned shift in behavior. For example, dogs may act subdued when they hear a sharp or upset, “No!” because they associate the word with that negative body language and tone. They may also experience fear, which can damage your bond.

One of the most comprehensive examinations of the structure of dog personality is Jones (2008) personality taxonomy for dogs.

In this framework, dogs vary along 5 dimensions:

Fearfulness characterizes a dog’s general anxiety and fearfulness toward people, other dogs, new environments, and handling (e.g., by groomers and owners). 

Aggression toward people characterizes a dog’s general and situational aggression toward humans. 

Activity/excitability characterizes a dog’s general level of excitability, playfulness, engagement, and companionability. 

Responsiveness to training characterizes a dog’s trainability and controllability (e.g., leaves food alone when they are told to). 

Aggression toward other animals characterizes a dog’s aggression and dominance towards other dogs and perceived prey (e.g., squirrels).

A study published in Journal of Research in Personality, is one of the first – and is the largest – studies of its kind to examine changes in dogs’ personalities.

Chopik surveyed owners of more than 1,600 dogs, including 50 different breeds.

Dogs ranged from just a few weeks old to 15 years, and were split closely between male and female.

The extensive survey had owners evaluate their dog’s personalities and answered questions about the dog’s behavioral history. The owners also answered a survey about their own personalities.

“We found correlations in 3 main areas:

age and personality,

in human-to-dog personality similarities and

in the influence a dog’s personality has on the quality of its relationship with its owner,” Chopik said.

“Older dogs are much harder to train; we found that the ‘sweet spot’ for teaching a dog obedience is around the age of 6, when it outgrows its excitable puppy stage but before its too set in its ways.”

One trait that rarely changes in age with dogs, Chopik said, was fear and anxiety.

Honing in on the saying, “dogs resemble their owners,” Chopik’s research showed dogs and owners share specific personality traits.

Extroverted humans rated their dogs as more excitable and active, while owners high in negative emotions rated their dogs as more fearful, active and less responsive to training.

Owners who rated themselves as agreeable rated their dogs as less fearful and less aggressive to people and animals.

The owners who felt happiest about their relationships with their dogs reported active and excitable dogs, as well as dogs who were most responsive to training.

Aggression and anxiety didn’t matter as much in having a happy relationship, Chopik said.

The Canine Behaviour Type Index divides dog behaviour into 12 types based on three dimensions of interactive factors.

The Environmental Dimension. There are 2 elements to this dimension: The Organised type seeks an orderly controlled environment. It loves to herd things and is team focused. The Spontaneous type is more self-focused and interested in a particular facet of its environment at any time, rather than with the larger picture that the Organised type focuses on.

The Social Dimension. This dimension refers to social position and willingness to comply with social rules. It is a linear hierarchy of 3 types: A, B, or Gamma in that order. The Alpha type is most dominant, confident and controlling socially. The Beta type is socially mobile and challenging of the social order. The Gamma type is a born follower and is highly rule bound socially.

The Motivation Dimension. This is a general term denoting how active your dog is. Dogs display either high or medium levels of motivation. High levels will amplify other characteristics in the preceding two dimensions. Medium levels will tone down the other behavioural dimensions.

Dogs’ personality may change with senescence (old age).

Breeds tend to cluster around specific profiles, because they have been selectively bred for specific purposes.

People often prefer a particular breed for their character, hence continue to select the same breed with a similar personality profile.

According to Dr. Hecht, just because certain dogs have brain makeups that suggest a certain disposition, it doesn’t lock them into those behaviors. That goes especially for working skills.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 �� Cats ⚜ Horses ⚜ Resources PDFs

So glad to hear this, thank you! This is one of my favourite requested topics. Hope this helps with your writing.

[pig-piggy]

ATEEZ's "THE WORLD EP.1 : MOVEMENT"

So, another album released in 2022. Of course I won't be able to write down the feelings I had about these songs when they first came out, but I will instead write on how I feel about them now, in 2025.

1. Propaganda

This track is their album intro, hence it won't be evaluated. However, I do believe it to be very fitting for the kind of concept they were going with in this album and as an introduction, in general, to this new series of them, that would last for 3 albums (from july 2022 until the end of 2023).

2. Sector 1

(here's the performance video)

So this song (as well as this whole album, but I'll get into it) is for people like me, that enjoy feeling like a revolution has just begun and that they're actively taking part in it. That sort of dystopian feeling that we, Gen Z, grew up around in terms of media content.

This song is perfect by itself. I really didn't need to include this performance video, since I feel like it will hinder your experience of the song. I believe it to be best to listen to it on your own, without watching anything first, and let your imagination run wild. The performance, in my opinion, is a little bit low quality, according to my standards. Not because ATEEZ did a bad job, but because the choreography could be better taking in account the power this song holds, as well as the members styling. The vocals for this performance (and every ATEEZ one, really), however, remain powerful and so the performance is enjoyable from a "hearing" perspective.

Either way, I believe this song really fits this album and that it is my cup of tea. I remember first listening to this album and wishing that every song on the album had a sort of similar vibe to this one, but still keeping my expectations low, because I felt like a whole album with this concept was something that really wasn't going to happen and that it was too unrealistic and fanciful. Well, let me give you a spoiler, as well as an advice: you should never lower your expectations when it comes to ATEEZ.

Hooks: 9

Production: 9

Longevity: 8

Bias: 10

Final Rating: 9 (A)

3. Cyberpunk

(another performance video)

Another song I wish I didn't put here the performance video. Please, listen to the song first. It's one of ATEEZ's best, but I think the unasked for sexiness for the performance really brings the song down a notch. Like, we're supposed to be in the middle of a revolution, there's no time to be sexy, San. The song is supposed to make me feel like I'm fighting for my life, for my future, so acting sexy really isn't the way to go. Also, the chairs? We're in the middle of a revolution, there's no time to seat your ass down! We have to save the world from the evil people who want to control it, we have to be the peoples' heroes! (You can clearly see I have a savior complex as well as a wild imagination, just look past it).

In all seriousness, this is one of the best songs ATEEZ ever put out. It gives of a futuristic, dystopian feeling and I'm here for it. Once again, Jongho's vocals are completely out of this world, and the performance, when it came to his singing, literally gave me goosebumps.

Musically, I really feel like this album is a piece of art, although I think the styling and choreographies should've been slightly different. I would like to see the ATEEZ members wear either somewhat destroyed soldier clothes, those ones that people in dystopian movies usually wear. I want the choreography to be dramatic, passionate, but not sensual. Sensuality should have no place in this album (wow, what a prude).

Hooks: 10

Production: 10

Longevity: 9

Bias: 10

Final Rating: 9,75 (A)

4. Guerrilla

It's sort of surprising that the title track appears so late into the album. Usually they appear in second or third place, so I think it's the first time I'm seeing it in fourth, but that has nothing to do with the song, just a little comment I felt like making.

The song is amazing, one of their best title tracks for sure. The music video is great, however I could envision more for it, if only their company were bigger and had more means to make their music videos on a bigger scale. Either way, the music video is very well adapted to the song in question, and the meaning behind it is very well shown: revolution / rebellion.

The choreography is great (finally) and I really like the part just before the chorus begins where Wooyoung pretends to throw a grenade, with his teeth and finger.

The vocals are absolutely insane, and once again, Jongho should be praised, because that is definitely not an easy thing to pull off. I also think it's a very good thing that I can't say that a particular member stood out to me. They all seemed to have the same amount of screen time and were all very visible and memorable, so that is something to be praised as well.

I'm still debating in my mind if I consider this their best title-track or if it's "Bouncy", released in 2023, and I haven't come to a conclusion yet. Let's just say these two are the top ones and leave it at that.

Hooks: 9

Production: 10

Longevity: 8

Bias: 9

Final Rating: 9 (A)

5. The Ring

Wow, a 4 minute long song. That's rare nowadays. However, every singe minute - no - every single second in this song is completely worth listening to. This song is absolutely amazing. The melody? The drop in the chorus? I can feel epicness oozing out of it. Seriously amazing. I really love all of this album, but this one is definitely at the top, just slightly (really slightly) behind another song about to come up in this album.

Like, put yourself in my shoes. Do you know how my excitement was through the roof listening to this song for the first time? Do you know what it feels like when every song is better than the one before it and it just keeps on increasing and increasing in quality? It was an experience I never had with ANY k-pop album, I repeat, ANY.

And it only got better. Truly amazing. The type of amazing that almost moves me to tears, since this was the type of concept I had been searching for - waiting for - for years.

Hooks: 10

Production: 10

Longevity: 9

Bias: 10

Final Rating: 9,75 (A)

6. WDIG (Where Do I Go)

The drop when the chorus begins? Unbelievable. Amazing. I wish I could inhale this album, breathe it, be one with it (too dramatic, I know, I'll tone it down).

Although this song is not up in the top with my favorite ones, I believe it's placed perfectly in this album. First of all, it really fits the concept of the album, and second - its place is perfect between "The Ring" and the next song, otherwise I wouldn't be able to write this today, 'cause I would have died from a heart attack out of excitement.

This song also gives off that uprising feeling. It makes me feel like I just reached the doors of the highest building known to mankind, and that the last challenge lies beyond it. So yeah, you know, I guess I'm going to go listen to this song while standing in front of a tall building in my city, on a windy and cloudy day, preferentially (if you see someone doing this, it's definitely me, no need to even question it).

Hooks: 9

Production: 10

Longevity: 9

Bias: 9

Final Rating: 9,75 (A)

7. New World

"OPEN UP YOUR EYES, OPEN UP YOUR MIND, OH NEW WORLD! CAN'T YOU SEE THE STORM, CAN'T YOU FEEL ME NOW, OH NEW WORLD!"

The revolution was planned, put into action and finally achieved.

The instrumental, the vocals, the lyrics, the power in it. Pure perfection. It literally makes me think that I reached the top of the world, that all of my life was lived just for that specific moment. It makes you feel part of some sort of "greatness" that was waiting for you and only you to achieve it, to retrieve what was yours - freedom. A new beginning. A NEW WORLD.

This type of song makes me want to write a dystopian book, the most dystopian you could ever imagine, bringing greatness into our own world through it. I could be a movie director if this song was playing in the background. I could be a million seller author if this song was always playing in the background. I could be unstoppable if I had this song constantly playing in the background.

And then when the song ends you go back to the real world and realize your mom has been screaming at you for you to fold some laundry. Still, worth the 3 minutes and 36 seconds long journey.

I wouldn't say, however, that this is my favorite ATEEZ song. There's one that is absolute perfection - no - more perfect than perfection (but I'll talk about it when I review its album).

Nevertheless, one's perfection doesn't cancel another one's perfection, so:

Hooks: 10

Production: 10

Longevity: 10

Bias: 10

Final Rating: 10 (S)

In conclusion (and all craziness aside), this is one of the best albums ever put out by a k-pop act. The only thing that is slightly a bummer to me is the performance aspect of it, but it's something I can easily overlook and that still lets me embrace the perfection that this album is.

Album's Final Rating: 9,5 (A)

[ladyluscinia]

What Exactly Did David Jenkins Say?

Look, I'm still staunchly of the opinion that Word of God statements and creator interviews are overvalued in fandom, especially when they get pulled out mostly as gotchas without then continuing to analyze whether or not the show canon is successful at getting across that same message. Death of the Author is good, actually, and we should remember that. But they are worth looking at in the context of evaluating intent vs execution, and for future speculation - just, like, please with less of the whole mile high pedestal idolizing and backlash cycles.

But if overvalued "Word of God" is annoying, then overvalued "supposed creator statements that have gone through three rounds of telephone and any given blogger has only heard about a quarter of them, which they'll use confidently anyway" is worse. So, since I'd already looked up interviews for various reasons...

Here is a fairly comprehensive list of interviews David Jenkins has given and statements he's made during them, presented without commentary (save curating which statements get highlighted). All provided with links. I definitely missed some, so if you have any that you want to add, please do - though if you could trim off any commentary and save it for tags / your own post with a link that would be cool.

Also, again, just because he said it doesn't make it incontrovertible canon that only a blind person wouldn't understand. Some of these even arguably contradict each other. The creator's intent doesn't always translate to what the show is doing, nor do you even have to think it was a good idea.

(Listed in chronological order from oldest to newest - post contains spoilers below the cut)

Pre-S1

Gizmodo - Feb 22, 2022 - with Cheryl Eddy (io9) - Link

Why this story - Really, it was the enigma of Stede that drew him in. "I think actual pirate stuff is fine, but it's not necessarily my cup of tea. And I think Taika [Waititi] felt similarly. But hearing about this guy and reading about him and seeing that, you know, he left his family, then he met Blackbeard, they hit it off, and we don't know any of the details in between. So filling those blanks in, and having a very human story, and then being able to do it with the pirate genre, that was like, 'Oh, this would be cool.'"

Post 1x01 - 1x03

Polygon - March 5, 2022 - with Tasha Robinson - Link

David Jenkins, Taika Waititi, and Rhys Darby interview

About Stede running off to sea - "Stede thought he could outrun his baggage, and you can't outrun your baggage."

About S1 - "I don't think there was enough improv on set! We had an insane schedule, with a huge amount of plot. We were budgeted and designed as a one-hour show, but with a half-hour production schedule, which means we really had to chase these episodes to get them shot. And then there are certain emotional beats that we really needed. So trying to find places to find the fun was hard."

Mashable - Mar 5, 2022 - with Belen Edwards - Link

About the show concept - "It was Jenkins' wife who first told him about Stede's adventures; she thought it would make a good TV show."

On casting Rhys Darby - "Stede did a terrible thing to his family. If you cast it wrong, he's a very hard character to get behind," Jenkins said. "Very quickly, the only person I thought of for this was Rhys [Darby]. He has this childlike quality that's endearing."

About the story - "Seeing them discover a need for each other that neither anticipated and charting how that relationship goes is the meat of the story." + "If you're on this ship, you're running from something, and you're running to something that you can't be on land"

Mentions of matelotage - "In fact, one of Jenkins's favorite pirate facts that he learned while working on Our Flag Means Death was the term matelotage, which was a civil union between same-sex pirates. "The more you look at it," he explained, "the more you write to the fact that this is a queer-positive world.""

Discussing piracy careers - "Something else that astounded Jenkins about pirates was "just how fast it all moved — their lives were quite short," he said. "Your career [in piracy] wasn't very long.""

Post 1x09 - 1x10

Decider - Mar 24, 2022 - with Kayla Cobb - Link

David Jenkins, Taika Waititi, and Rhys Darby interview

Pitch for the show - "That was in the pitch," series creator David Jenkins told Decider. "That was the reason, to make them fall in love with each other."

About the romance - "The main thing to me was to side-step coming out," Jenkins continued. "I just want a romance. I want a Titanic romance between these two people. We don't have to do the coming out story and then the non-binary story for Jim [Vico Ortiz]."

About S2 and the show - "The show is the relationship," Jenkins said. "So, we end in a place where there is this breakup. What happens after a breakup between these two people who, one’s realized he's in love and the other one is hurt in a way that he's never been hurt before? What does that do to each of them in an action, pirate world with them trying to find each other again? So again, I really love those rom-com beats."

Collider - Mar 24, 2022 - with Carly Lane - Link

On making it a romcom - "It's the only reason to make the show. If you didn't do that, it would just be weird. I mean, you're using the rom-com beats. You're using these like they're together. And it's funny because so we're so habituated to be like bromance, bromance, bromance, and it's such a simple move to put them together."

Discusses focusing on romance - "I guess I really... I get kind of bored. How much pirate can you do? They're going to rob stuff. They're going to steal ships. There's only so many pirate stories you can do. So if you're going to do a workplace story, I mean, you're essentially having this... You'd have this same amount of relationships in Grey's Anatomy in the ER. So it's standard. It's the most standard. We're making a soap opera on a pirate ship, and to use those soap opera beats... I like it, and I like the flavor in a comedy when you have something that's played genuinely up against very ridiculous things."

Discusses history and kissing scene

Discusses importance of going home to Mary - "Yeah, that was the problem for me in the story. I knew that I wanted to have the end where he goes home, because you need to give Mary her day in court. I just wanted to know from Mary's perspective what happened and then to see that, yeah, they're friends."

Is Lucius dead? - "You got to wait."

EW.com - Mar 25, 2022 - with Devan Coggan - Link

David Jenkins, Taika Waititi, and Rhys Darby interview

Pitch for the show - "To me, [Stede and Blackbeard's relationship] is the reason to make the show," Jenkins explains. "When Taika and I were first talking about it, he was like, 'Oh yeah, that's the show.' I first started reading about Stede and how he befriended Blackbeard and we don't know why. Very quickly, it was like, 'Oh, it's a romance.'"

Polygon - Mar 25, 2022 - with Tasha Robinson - Link

Discusses 3-season intent - "I think three seasons is good. I think we could do it in three."

Discusses acts within S1 - "To me, when you see him get stabbed, and the blood runs through his fingers, it’s like 'Oh, no, the clown got stabbed! And not comedy-stabbed, he got stabbed stabbed!' That to me is cool. And then having Blackbeard find him as the end of what would be the first act of our story felt good to me."

Discusses kiss scene filming and the national moment around gay rights

What to focus on a rewatch - "I think Con O'Neill does such a great job. He's such a complex character, and it's such a tortured relationship. And that's a love story too, between him and Blackbeard. It's a very dysfunctional story, but it's fun to watch. Watch that maybe, on a rewatch, looking where their relationship ultimately goes."

TV Insider - Mar 25, 2022 - with Meaghan Darwish - Link

Discusses show pitch - "When I was pitching [the show] to people, I'd be like, 'Okay, so it's about Stede and Blackbeard, and then they hit it off and then they fall in love.' And then people are like, 'Okay, cool,' Jenkins shares. "And then they really fall in love, and become intimately involved."

Discusses historical inspiration

Discusses S2 direction - "But when [Stede] goes to find [Blackbeard], he's gone and his crew's been abandoned. And so watching them try to negotiate that, that's a good rom-com beat," he adds.

The Verge - Apr 15, 2022 - with Charles Pulliam-Moore - Link

Discusses being surprised by queerbaiting legacy - "...part of me knew that, yes, Stede and Ed's romance was going to be real. But one part of me felt like, 'We're going to do this story, and they're going to kiss, and maybe that's not even going to be that big a deal. Maybe it'll just be a blip.'"

Discusses writing romance - "I'd never written a romance before this one, but I think with Ed and Stede, the question's always 'what's the need for each other?'"

Discusses falling in love and Stede's accidental seduction - "It made sense to have that love be almost like a teenage version of falling in love — one with all these intense and conflicting feelings. They're middle-aged, but Stede's young. Ed's young. Emotionally, they're like 16, and they've both got a lot to learn."

Discusses Con O'Neill as Izzy - "He plays an exhausted quality that's really lovely because this character could just be generically evil, and the way Con plays, it is like, he's credible. I believe that he can do some damage if he wanted to. My favorite thing I've seen about the show is somebody saying that Con's playing the only human with a bunch of Muppets. It does feel like that a bit where he's like Charles Grodin in The Great Muppet Caper."

On Izzy being in love with Blackbeard - "I think Izzy's deeply in love with Blackbeard, and it's a very dysfunctional kind of love, and he's like the jilted spouse who's losing his man to fucking Stede Bonnet, and he can't believe this is happening."

Discusses masculinity and piracy as an escape from that

Discusses diversity and trauma based stories - "And the consensus in that very diverse room was that we wanted to show that isn't just wallowing in trauma. We don't have to do a coming out scene or focusing on the trauma of it — not to say that those stories aren’t valid."

Gizmodo - Jun 20, 2022 - with Linda Codega (io9) - Link

Musing on fandom response to the show - "I'm wondering if the fact that because the queerness of this show isn't gaslighting the audience, and isn't a function of wanting to do something, but not being able to produce the results because of network standards. I think we just happened to be in this lucky spot where the show is actually queer… and I do think that people are responding to that."

Comparing fanfiction to writing - "And Con O'Neill's audition was one of those things I would go back to. I would watch that and be like… Oh, right, that's the show. And in a way, you're writing fanfiction for a certain actor and character because you want them to do something, and you're like–" at this point, it must be said, Jenkins let out a maniacal little giggle. He’s just as thrilled to show off Con O'Neill's ability to seem both deeply exhausted and menacing as the rest of the fandom. "And you [as the writer] you're like… And then Izzy does this now."

EW.com - Dec 13, 2022 - with Devan Coggan - Link

Discusses The Chain sequence - "I had initially wanted that end sequence to be like the FBI raid in a mob movie, where the feds come in, and they've got boxes of stuff, and everyone's running, and someone makes a dash for it," Jenkins explains. "So, it's like a mob movie or FBI raid story, and then it's also a story of Stede's lover coming back."

Pre-S2

Collider - Oct 2, 2023 - with Carly Lane - Link

Discusses fan reaction to S1 - "I thought that they'd kiss, and people would be like, 'Oh, cool, cool!' I kind of thought people would know a little bit more [about] where we were going, but then in hindsight, no, people have been hurt and burned on so many other shows and then made to feel silly."

Discusses starting S2 dark - "One of these characters is very, very damaged and has never made himself vulnerable in this way before, and I don't think [he] would react very well to having his heart broken in this way. I don't think it would be cute, and I don't think it would be funny. I think it would be scary as hell to watch a very damaged guy that we've established in Ed, who killed his dad and thinks he's not capable of being loved, deal with rejection and see that Stede really hurt him."

Discusses adding more female characters

Discusses S2 needle drops including "This Woman's Work"

Discusses 3-season arc

Post 2x01 - 2x03

Mashable - Oct 5, 2023 - with Belen Edwards - Link

Discusses fandom response to S1

About the canon gay relationship - "To watch the explosion of enthusiasm around [the kiss] was disorienting, almost," Jenkins said. "I thought people would react to it, but I didn't think the reaction would be that big. And then it was moving, because I didn't realize that this audience felt so unserved in general, as far as storylines go."

Insider - Oct 5, 2023 - with Ayomikun Adekaiyero - Link

Tease on leaning into the Stede / Ed / Izzy love triangle - "I think Izzy, in a certain way, got the worst deal in the first season," the showrunner tells Insider. "He gets jilted and then he still is in spurned spouse territory at the beginning of the second season."

Discusses Izzy's arc - "What is that relationship about? And I think by the end of the season it kind of becomes a little unexpected of who they are to each other and what they mean to each other," he teases

Discusses addition of Zheng - "He likens Zheng's way of pirating to a successful tech startup, compared with the garage sale vibe Stede had going on the Revenge."

Discusses introducing Hornigold - "I thought Hornigold was the most obvious because he was the person who made Blackbeard what he is. And Blackbeard has a father complex, so it's natural that he's going to bring his former captain back," the show creator said. "It's a struggle with him because he and dad figures don't historically do well."

Discusses importance of the mermaid scene

Inverse - Oct 5, 2023 - with Hoai-Tran Bui - Link

Reveals he didn't commit to the romance until shooting 1x06 - "Jenkins always intended his pirate comedy to end with a romance, but he'd envisioned it as an unrequited love. "It was going to be about Stede learning what love is, and Ed making himself vulnerable and getting burned," Jenkins says of his original pitch. But Darby and Waititi's choices in the scene, which they played without diffusing the tenderness with a joke, made him wonder if they could take the show in a new direction."

Discusses mermaid Stede idea from S1 - "We talked about Stede as a mermaid very early on in the writers' room," Jenkins says. "At some point, yeah, I want to see Rhys Darby as a merman." + "They wanted us to come up with a Season 2 pitch during Season 1. And that was one of the ideas we hit on, and I can't quite remember how we got there, but it was us asking, what is a pirate world? Are there mermaids? Is there magic in this show? With pirate stuff, I don’t know that I want there to be magic, but there was a way where it was something really beautiful about a mer-person, and I like the idea that their coming together would have a mythic size to it."

Discusses historical divergence

Discusses matelotage and pirates as weird outsiders

TV Guide - Oct 5, 2023 - with Allison Piccuro - Link

About the shipping culture - "It's the meat of the show, so it's great to have people bought into the central romance. If it were a bromance that we were trying to make look like a romance, that would suck."

Discusses playlists he makes

Discusses opening dream sequence - "I just like that it started with something badass. Stede, Blackbeard, and Izzy are on an arc together. Whether they're in stories together or not, their ultimate arc is together. I think, by the end of this season, the last episode, that first scene will be gratifying. I won't say why, but their fates are tied together."

Discusses Kraken arc - "But I think the thing that's good about this show is that it can go to really sweet comedy land, but I want there to be, like, if someone loses a body part, for instance, they lose a body part. To do justice to the fact that this guy is a killer and a monster, and dealing with heartache that he doesn't know how to deal with, I think you really need to go there."

Discusses Izzy in S2 - "I mean, he's jilted. He had a partnership with Blackbeard, and he knows he can't live up to this person that Blackbeard fell in love with... Who is that guy? What are his hobbies? What does it look like when he's not totally subsumed with his boss's love affair with somebody, and heartbroken?"

On S2 reunion - "The second season is them being a little bit more mature... It's the thing where you're in your 20s or 30s and you're like, "Well, should we move in together?" They have to make up some time because neither of them have been in a functional relationship before."

About genre of pirate stories - "...is a show about multiple relationships. That's what I want to see when I see this show. I don't want to see a bunch of pirate things that I've seen in other things, I'll just go watch another thing if I want to see that. That's not really my thing. I like the genre, but it's a very hard genre to budge. I want to see relationships in a pirate world."

Discusses the A Star is Born aspect of seeking fame / retiring

Mashable - Oct 7, 2023 - with Belen Edwards - Link

About the mermaid scene - "You need something expressive for when they come back together," Jenkins said. "Their reunion moment has to feel big and mythical. This is not a world where mermaids actually exist, but their love for each other has that size that you can get [a mermaid] in there somewhere."

About Kate Bush - "I love Kate Bush, and I love that song, and I know Taika loves that song," Jenkins explained of the choice. "So I wanted to find a place for that song somewhere in the second season."

Polygon - Oct 9, 2023 - with Tasha Robinson & more - Link

Compares S2 and "Golden Age of Piracy" stuff to Westerns, lists 5 he was thinking of - "Every Western that’s good is that story," Jenkins says. "'This way of life we made is coming to an end. It can't last. It's a blip in time. We created this thing because we need it to exist. We're outlaws, and we need a culture that suits us, but it's running out of time.'"

Gizmodo - Oct 9, 2023 - with Linda Codega (io9) - Link

Short tease on leaning into the love triangle

About Stede, Edward, and Izzy - "I think the three of them are on an arc together that's pretty inseparable," Jenkins said in an interview with io9. "And to watch Izzy try to process what's happened [in season one]… to watch him kind of grow and figure out what's his own story, if he can separate himself from this kind of toxic relationship, is interesting to me and I think gives him a lot of room for growth."

Post 2x04 - 2x05

IndieWire - Oct 12, 2023 - with Sarah Shachat - Link

Discusses directing and show creation

"The limitations of the show also naturally push it back towards moments with the ensemble and plot problems that it would frankly be irresponsible to tackle if you had a giant budget and a fully working ship-of-the-line to sail and then blow to bits. "That's the fun of the show to us, I think. If you open this up and you're like, unlimited budget, that would be terrible because I think you can get seduced," Jenkins said. "[It could be like,] 'Oh man, it's all leading up to a climatic battle on the sea.' And those things are great. But that’s not this show.""

"The nice thing about that, though, is you get to be the lo-fi show that’s like, 'Hey, we’re making The Muppets.'"

PopSugar - Oct 12, 2023 - with Victoria Edel - Link

About S2 Stede - "I like the idea that he learns and grows and he doesn't just stay a bumbling captain. He might be ridiculous, but he is getting better at it."

Discusses genre challenges - "How do you have a show that's a romance show but it's also a workplace show and they're criminals?"

Discusses Edward's redemption - "But Blackbeard still has to come back and apologize and be part of the community again, and give his little press conference. It was fun for us to look at that in the context of piracy, where they all do terrible things to each other. But even by their standards, what Blackbeard did was a bit much."

Discusses Izzy in S2 - "When Izzy shoots Blackbeard and they all mutiny on him, that's Izzy breaking up with Blackbeard. And they're both having their own journey in the wake of it, and Izzy's having his own redemption arc. He's trying to figure out, "Who am I if I'm not Blackbeard's first mate? Who am I outside of this relationship?"" + "If Stede's Spongebob, he's Squidward. I don't know what that makes Blackbeard. But there's a real pathos to Squidward."

Discusses trauma-based narratives - "As a diverse room in terms of sexuality, socio-economic background, and race, we thought, "Wouldn't it be nice to have a non-trauma-based story for these characters who don't get that historically?""

Variety - Oct 13, 2023 - with Hunter Ingram - Link

Discusses three act structure and making Stede work for a relationship - "The way I like to look at a season is in threes. The end of the first act is when they find each other, and this is the beginning of the second act. They've found each other, but they are pissed. Stede thought it was going to be [Kate Bush's] “This Woman's Work,” but, in reality, it is this headbutt –– literally."

Discusses the central romance - "It was always part of the pitch... that is the reason to make the show. The pirate genre is fun, but I wasn’t dying to make a pirate show. Taika wasn’t dying to make a pirate show. But the thing that was interesting to me was that Stede finds love, and he finds it with Blackbeard."

Discusses 2x04 plot - "This episode is based on a very, very thumbnail sketch of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?." Anne and Mary are Martha and George, and they are Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton."

Discusses adding historical pirates

Discusses Buttons exit - "I just love the idea of him turning into a bird: I love the idea of Buttons somehow being the one character that is able to figure that out."

Discusses Izzy and the crew's trauma plot - "We liked the idea that there is something about trauma and getting past that trauma, even on a pirate ship. They have been through two very different ways of living and they have to get used to each other again. But it's also a family that was separated, and becoming one family again is painful."

Discusses bringing characters back - "We could bring Calico Jack back, who, if you remember, was hit by a cannonball last season. Anyone who is that fun to play with and wants to keep playing, you always find a way to bring them back."

Polygon - Oct 14, 2023 - with Tasha Robinson - Link

Discusses 3-season arc and how keeping them apart with some plot device was never in the cards - "at the end of the first season, they're 14-year-olds, emotionally. In this season, it's more like they’re in their late 20s."

Discussing New Zealand production and ensemble cast writing - "It's pretty organic, because as we're going through and tracking everybody's journey for the season, we're watching the thing that holds us together — what stage of Stede and Blackbeard's relationship are we in? Because the overarching arc is, are these guys going to learn how to settle into a relationship?"

"The second season is more overtly about romance, and more a relationship story."

Energizing aspect of fan reaction

S3 is about "love is work"

Gizmodo - Oct 16, 2023 - with Linda Codega (io9) - Link

About the story - "I want to see them become a functional couple or fail to become a functional couple," Jenkins said. "Those are the most interesting parts of the show."

Discusses fandom engagement - "...ultimately the writers are also "the fans in the room." He goes on to say that, "We're fans of the world. We're writing fanfic about our own characters, our own worlds… It's paid fanfic, but it's fanfic." He gives another example: "If you're writing a season of Succession, you're writing fanfic Succession. You're just getting paid to do it. We, as writers–" it's clear that he's not just talking about the writers in the writers room, "become fans of the world and we all have things we want to see these characters do. What we do is not that different."

Discusses the A Star is Born aspect of seeking fame / retiring

Discusses Zheng Yi Sao

Villains of the series - There are a lot of new villains this season, but, Jenkins says, ultimately, "the antagonist on this show is normalcy… These pirates have a way of life that they're not finding in normal life. They've found a way to live and support each other and be there for each other. And that's always threatened by these larger, tyrannical forces that want to shut them down."

Post 2x06 - 2x07

Mashable - Oct 19, 2023 - with Belen Edwards - Link

Discussing drag performance in 2x06

"It is nice to see with Izzy's arc, where he finally breaks through whatever he's been doing to himself. He lets himself have that moment, which I just love. It resonates for Izzy, and I think it resonates for Con. Just personally, it made me feel good to see how it turned out."

Consequence - Oct 19, 2023 - with Liz Shannon Miller - Link

Discusses intent for romance - "...telling a love story in a serialized medium like television has its perils, largely because it's tough to know how much you can draw out any unresolved tension. "I think we take it episode by episode and we try to not piss people off in taking too long and doing double beats and triple beats," Jenkins says. "You can only do Will They or Won’t They for so long. Then you have to deepen it.""

Discusses pirate setting - "The emphasis on relationships also fits into the show's high-seas setting, which Jenkins finds similar to post-apocalyptic narratives. "It is a little bit like you're doing Mad Max, except there's relationships," he says. "Stuff's shitty, so you gotta try to find some joy. Of course, people are going to have a need for each other in these extreme circumstances, and I like the idea of these characters finding some level of a healthy relationship in these extreme circumstances.""

Discusses Jim x Archie

Discusses 3-season arc

Polygon - Oct 21, 2023 - with Tasha Robinson - Link

Discussing gender and power dynamics in Jackie x Swede / Zheng x Oluwande / Blackbeard x Stede + A Star is Born aspect

Jim not being jealous of Oluwande - "I think that relationship was always seen in the room as a friend relationship that got romantic."

About adding a villain - "I think a lot of the internal forces in Our Flag are the villains." + "I think this is a story about the age of piracy coming to an end. This way of life is coming to an end. And every Western that's good is that story: This way of life we made is coming to an end, and it can't last. […] I think every story about outlaws is about trying to preserve a way of life against normative forces that are kind of fascistic."

Historical accuracy - "The balance of the show is 90% ignoring history, and then 10%, bring it in, whenever we're like, Ah, gotta move the story forward! Remember, the English are out there, and they're really bad!"

Post 2x08

AV Club - Oct 26, 2023 - with Saloni Gajjar - Link

Killing Izzy was always the plan - "We wanted to show the depth of that character. Izzy is one of my favorites. He's like middle management who is in a sort of love triangle [in season one]."

Discusses how they really wanted the happy ending for S2 - "I think with season one's end, it was a gamble to leave it the way it was. Everybody stomached through it. Now if it turned out they didn't want us to make more, I just didn't want to have another story where the same-sex love story ends in tragedy, unrequited love, or if one or both of them are being punished."

Discusses S2 progressing the 3-season romance - "They’re a couple who is like in their late twenties right now as opposed to being teens at the end of season one." + "It was an interesting tension of, which one gives up their dream? A lot of times in relationships questions can come up, like who is going to give up on their dream to take care of the kids? Obviously, no one wants to, but someone ends up giving up more than they want to at some point. What's wonderful about a mature romance, and what I'd want to see more of in season three, is Ed and Stede making these tough decisions." + progressing past the getting together point

Discusses parallels, Republic of Pirates, and Zheng Yi Sao

Short bit about fan response

Collider - Oct 26, 2023 - with Carly Lane - Link

Discusses Ed leaving fishing - "I like that he had a little prima donna moment where he thought he could go and be a simple man, and then it's revealed that he really isn't a simple man; he's a complicated, fussy, moody guy. No, he's not gonna be able to catch fish for a living. For him to be told that, "At your heart, you're a pirate. You have to go back and do it," he doesn't want that to be true, but it was true."

Discusses Izzy's speech to Ricky - "I wanted to give Izzy a proper eulogy for himself. He gives a eulogy for himself, but it felt true writing it."

Discusses Izzy's death scene - "In a way, it's very much for Ed, that speech. The "we were Blackbeard" is claiming that he is also Blackbeard, that Blackbeard is not just Ed’s creation, and I like that for him, too, because he's worked so hard for that — and then just to say, "You can give it up." There can never be a Blackbeard again as far as Izzy's concerned because he's dying, and they did that together."

Discusses Republic of Pirates / music parallels from premier to finale

Discusses finale wedding - "We knew we wanted a matelotage in the season, which is the real term they had for marrying crew members. And yeah, they've always been in relief to Stede and Ed, and they're a little bit ahead of Stede and Ed in how much they can talk about things. So to have a bunch of family things in the season, like a funeral and a wedding, and have the parents kind of watch the kids sail away, felt right, and all of those things seem to work well together and build on each other."

Discusses retirement ending - "That will-they-or-won't-they is interesting to a point, but the real meat of it is always like, "Can they make the relationship, and can they do better than Anne and Mary?""

"Frenchie's in charge of the Revenge" + teases Stede struggling to give it up

EW.com - Oct 26, 2023 - with Devan Coggan - Link

Discusses Izzy's death and telling Con - "It feels like the logical end of Izzy's arc. It's heartbreaking to me because he's my favorite." + "I told him in the middle of shooting because I didn't want him to find out at the table read, obviously. I also didn't want it to leak. He was lovely about it."

Discusses Izzy's final arc - "You know, I didn't expect him to become kind of a father figure to Ed. I think we hit on that while we were breaking the [final] episode. He's in such a weird position: He's like a jilted lover, and then he's a middle manager who has to work for a terrible boss. He gets thrown away, and then he comes back. He really develops, and he becomes a part of this family. I think the biggest surprise was the extent that he was a mentor to Ed. They were both Blackbeard. They both made Blackbeard happen."

Discusses the happy ending intent - "With this season starting so dark, I kind of wanted to reward them for the work that they've done and the character growth that they've had. I wanted to leave them in a place where they're really going to try and make this work. I don't think it's going to be easy for them, necessarily. They're both still immature."

Discusses the wedding - "We knew we wanted a matelotage in the second season, and pretty quickly we landed on Lucius and Black Pete. It seems like they were ready for that. We made up a ceremony and everything, where they call each other mateys, and it was just fun to make our own version of a pirate wedding ceremony."

Discusses potential S3 and Frenchie's Revenge - "But it felt like a good place to end the second season. It felt like a contrast to the first season. If it turns out we don't make any more, I'm comfortable with that being a resting place."

Variety - Oct 26, 2023 - with Hunter Ingram - Link

S3 endpoint - "I love things in threes," he says. "That first act, second act, third act structure is so satisfying when it is done well, and you don't overstay your welcome. I think this world of the show is a big world, and if the third season is successful, we could go on in a different way. But I think for the story of Stede and Ed, that is a three-season story."

Discusses the draw of a "Golden Age" and it's ending

Talks about father figure Izzy and wanting a real sense of loss - "There is a nice parallel to have Ed treat him so badly at the beginning of the season and then come all the way around to where Izzy is this sort of father figure he doesn’t want to lose — because Ed usually kills his father figures."

Gizmodo - Oct 26, 2023 - with Linda Codega (io9) - Link

Teasing future Izzy - "Jenkins looked slightly sad himself, saying that "Ghosts exist in this world." I told him not to make promises he couldn't keep."

"Jenkins said that he doesn't see Izzy as a pure antagonist in season one because on some level… Izzy was right in his hesitations about Stede."

Discussing Con O'Neill & Rhys Darby acting

Jenkins confirms the season was always 8 episodes due to budget cuts

About S2 finale vs S3 - "The first season ends on such a downer, so it made sense to end the second season in a kinder spot." + "I think there's plenty of story left for season three, but I think that it was important to end this as if it was the end of the show, and on upbeat note and avoid the kind of "kill your gays" trope. I don't want to see Stede and Ed punished for giving it a go. I want to see them really say, 'yeah, we’re going to we're going to try to have a relationship'."

Teases S3 revenge against Ricky and going to the Americas

Vanity Fair - Oct 26, 2023 - with Sarah Catherall - Link

About the ending - "It's bittersweet. There's death and there's the rebirth of Stede and Blackbeard's relationship; there's a funeral, there's a wedding, and the idea that this family is going to keep fighting even as they lose members. And then it's about belonging to something." + "A lot of times, with this narrative of characters, same-sex relationships end on a dour, downbeat note, where one of them dies and it's unrequited or it's unrealized; something horrible happens and they're punished in a way. So it was important to leave it open and a lot more show to go, but also leave it in a place where it's happy."

Discusses Izzy as a mentor / father figure - "We felt like Izzy's story had reached its conclusion, where we put him through enough. And then there was the realization that he is kind of a mentor to Blackbeard and that he is kind of a father figure to Blackbeard." + "And it's also a pirate show, so he's got to die."

Discusses filming challenges - "It's a big show; it's basically a one-hour show that we're doing on a half-hour budget."

Discusses adding Zheng Yi Sao

Is the show a queer romance? - "For this show, it's important to me just to write a really bold-bodied romantic show that happens to be between two characters of the same sex. I think that the story beats don't matter, because if you've been in love and you've been hurt and you met someone you love—hopefully we all know what those feelings are."

Blackbeard's arc in S2 - "...the second season is about Blackbeard's midlife crisis. And then when they both have their midlife crises, they can open a B&B together." + "I don't think Stede and Blackbeard are ready to be married. They're emotionally saying: 'Let's give this a go.'"

Discusses historical piracy as "counterculture" that's been straightwashed and whitewashed

Did he feel responsibility to the fan community? - "As opposed to responsibility, it feels more like relief—that people feel seen and they feel good about it and they liked what we did. And so it feels like, Okay, somebody's out there and wants the show. The makeup of the writers room looks a lot like the makeup of the fan base. So as long as we're true to our stories in the writers room, I think we just feel excited that there's somebody waiting on the other end to enjoy it."

Paste Magazine - Oct 26, 2023 - with Tara Bennett - Link

Discusses whether fandom expectations felt weighty - "I think particularly for this season, that "bury your gays" thing… I didn't want to end on a downbeat for Ed and Stede. We did that in the first season. I like that there's a lot of different flavors. It's even a little melancholy because the Republic of Pirates got blown up. But there's still more good things."

Discusses production and plotting - "I wanted to start at the Republic of Pirates this season and end at the Republic of Pirates. And I knew I wanted the Republic of Pirates to be destroyed, ultimately. Within that, we are making a one-hour show on a half hour budget, on a half hour schedule."

Discusses planning the ending - "In terms of ending this season, it all felt right just in talking through it when we were in the room. It felt pretty intuitive. When you get to the third act of the story, things kind of settle in. There's gonna be a funeral. We always knew we wanted a wedding at the end of the second season. And I knew that I wanted Stede and Ed to start an inn together. So once you have those beats, it's kind of locked in."

Discusses Izzy's arc - "It's kind of a strange arc in that I knew we were going to put him through all these things, and I knew he would ultimately die. But I think him becoming a father figure to Ed in the last episode didn't really dawn on us until we were breaking the last episode. Asking what would this man say to Ed at the end because they've been together through everything? He went from a troubled and downtrodden employee to a jilted lover to a discarded employee, to someone that is just trying to find his footing again—no pun intended—to actually becoming this guy's parental figure on some level. And he's one person who kind of raised Ed right, because Blackbeard usually kills his parental figures. So, it felt right and it felt like that's how the mentor dies. The mentor in a story usually dies in the second act and then our hero has to go on and try to do it without them. It felt like the right journey for Izzy and a gratifying one for Con."

On leaving open for S3 - "I don't think it was a very hard thing to do. I think it was more that I felt a responsibility to leave Ed and Stede in a good place, at least for now. It's not gonna go well. They're not going to run a business well. Ed's too much of a talker. Stede can't focus. It's gonna be challenging."

Vulture - Oct 28, 2023 - with Sophie Brookover - Link

Discussing Izzy as a "father figure" and his S2 send-off being a priority

Meaning of piracy - "...what our pirates stand for is a life of belonging to something larger than they are in the face of a crushing, slightly fascist normalcy."

Re: Con O'Neill & Izzy's death - "I had to tell him about halfway through the season"

Third season about the work of a relationship between still damaged main characters

Discusses middles as about change and transitions, and wanting characters to change instead of reset, have them experience permanent consequences

About the final scene - "...Ed and Stede as the parents kind of watching the kids take the ship. Frenchie's the captain now..."

Objective of the crew - "...have had terrible things happen to them at the hands of colonial forces, so they want some payback. Party, plunder, and payback — the three P's."

Metro Weekly - Nov 1, 2023 - with Randy Shulman - Link

Discusses historical premise of S1 and easing into the romance

Discusses S2 genre - "In the second season, it was great because we know it's a romance and we can lead with that. It's a workplace show essentially. I wanted it to be more in the vein of early episodes of Grey's Anatomy or something where there are all these relationships on those shows. That's what you’re following — relationships and friendships that are taking place in a hospital, procedural. That's Grey's Anatomy. This is less procedural for the pirate stuff — and you need the pirate stuff."

Discusses not being into pirates - "But I'm like you. I'm not a big pirate person. In general, it's a big creaky genre that's hard to budge" + "Pirates of the Caribbean, those movies are great. That's not necessarily what I hunger to see, but in that genre, it's great. You're not going to beat that, especially on something that's lower budget. We've seen a lot of this stuff, so it's fun to take it then and don't do any of that stuff."

Discusses adapting historical piracy - "You don't want to see them punch down. You don't want to see them do terrible things to people who don't deserve it, which is not what they really did. So, in the show's world, I think piracy is like a stand-in for something. I think it's a stand-in for being an iconoclast and an outsider and queer in some ways and just different." + "Yeah, I mean, the British are there to be Stormtroopers, or Nazis in an Indiana Jones movie. I mean, they're in there to die essentially."

Discusses diversity staffing

Discusses performative masculinity

Discusses Izzy's death, happy endings, and openness to S3

[platoapproved]

a slow confusion

by: @platoapproved fandoms: interview with the vampire (TV 2022) || the vampire chronicles ships: maharet/jesse reeves || armand/rashid rating: e summary: Jesse befriends Rashid after he returns to the Talamasca headquarters in London. He believes that she shows signs of having her memories altered by a vampire, and calls in Armand to help undo it. Together, they all uncover the truth about Jesse and her mysterious aunt Maharet. total word count: ~93k - - - chapter: 1 of 16 || "rashid" - - -

Maharet did not approve of Jesse joining the Talamasca. She’d been kind about it—she was always so kind about everything—but her feelings had been clear right from the start. Jesse would have preferred anger. So much more excruciating, the gentleness of her aunt’s disappointment. Telling her that she respected her decision and loved her no matter what choices that she made. Expressing her hope that, eventually, Jesse would re-evaluate and realize that she could set her sights so much higher than the Talamasca. What agony it had been, reading that letter. How many times had Jesse gone over it and wept until she thought she might vomit? How many unsent resignation notices had she composed in the middle of the night, huddled over her laptop in bed? How her hands had shaken, as she’d written out her response to Maharet’s letter. Writing and re-writing, scratching out whole paragraphs, copying her progress over onto paper free from tear-stains, trying to get it just right. In the end, so many apologies. So many promises she would not reveal anything to the order. So many reassurances that her loyalty was to Maharet, always Maharet, only Maharet.

- - -

READ IT HERE

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive

(This number is likely underinflated by 1. lack of diagnosis 2. lack of education in the population about what long covid is 3. people getting long covid but powering through their symptoms and acting like nothing is wrong [a huge problem in the US even before covid])

By Jim Wappes

A study today demonstrates that last year, about 8% of US adults reported that they ever had long COVID, and those who currently had the condition or currently had activity-limiting long COVID were both under 4%, but a leading US expert on long COVID explains the limitations of such data and why estimates of the prevalence of the condition can vary so widely.

And he notes that, even when considering low estimated long-COVID rates, as in today's study, when the percentages are applied to the population as a whole, the impact is massive.

Long COVID—also known as post-COVID condition (PCC)—is generally defined as having symptoms 3 months or longer after an acute COVID-19 infection.

Only 3.6% currently had long COVID The study, published as a research letter in JAMA Network Open by scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), involved 29,522 US adult respondents to the National Health Interview Survey, a nationally representative household survey.

For the survey, investigators randomly selected one adult from each eligible household to answer more detailed questions about their health. The response rate was 47%. The selected adults were asked whether they had ever had COVID-19, if they had symptoms lasting 3 months or more that they didn't have before COVID-19, if they had symptoms now, and whether these current symptoms limited their ability to carry out daily tasks compared with pre-COVID.

The authors didn't specify what percentage of respondents self-reported COVID-19, but CDC serology data reveal that, by the end of 2023, 87.2% of Americans had infection-induced antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, indicating a previous infection.

The study authors reported that 8.4% of the adults said they ever had long COVID, 3.6% currently had long COVID, and 2.3% currently had activity-limiting long COVID. In 2022, 6.9% said they had ever had long COVID, and 3.4% reported it at the time of the interview. The third question was new in 2023.

They researchers also noted, "Significant differences across all 3 outcomes were observed by sex, sexual orientation, age, race and Hispanic origin, family income, and urbanization." They said the prevalence of all three outcomes decreased with higher family income and was higher in rural residents.

Study limitations The study authors write, "A limitation of this work is that the data were from self-reports and were not confirmed by medical evaluation."

Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, chief of research and development at the VA St. Louis Health Care System and a preeminent expert on long COVID who was not involved in the study, said the low response rate is another limitation of the study. "It is unclear how this low response rate biases the results." He also said that self-diagnosis "may miss a lot of PCC."

"I also note lack of any information on infection," he said in an email. "Because most people abandoned testing, a lot of people get COVID without knowing it; they subsequently develop health problems (that could be PCC) and cannot attribute them to an infection and won't be able to identify them as PCC.

"We entered a phase where PCC is now intermingled with baseline disease, and consequently it has become harder to detect through these kinds of surveys."

Why do reported rates of long COVID vary so widely? The prevalence of long COVID reported in today's study is markedly lower that other recent studies. Al-Aly and colleagues, in a July study in the New England Journal of Medicine, noted a 10.4% long-COVID prevalence a full year after the original infection when solely assessing people infected with the original SARS-CoV-2 strain. Subsequent variants were tied to lower rates of PCC, but the cumulative total would be much higher than 8.4%.

Last month, Massachusetts General Hospital researchers used artificial intelligence to estimate that 23% of the population has had the condition at some point. A second July study determined that 12% of Japanese adults developed long COVID after an Omicron infection alone. An October study found that 25% of previously healthy US Marines showed signs of long COVID following even mild or asymptomatic COVID-19.

A study in September estimated that the prevalence of long COVID in people with disabilities is 41%, compared with 19% in non-disabled participants. And two studies published in August found a 34% prevalence of long COVID in women and an 84% rate 1 year after infection in Italian adults.

Al-Aly explains: "Variation in incidence and prevalence estimates generally stems from variation in study designs (eg, surveys of self-reported Long Covid vs cohort studies, etc), definition of Long Covid (eg, narrow vs broad definition), population being studied, predominant variant, vaccination rates, etc."

He added, "When reviewing the totality of evidence, all the estimates suggest that [long COVID] is a serious problem affecting a sizable number of [the] US population. This is a problem that demands attention—we cannot ignore it."

He also noted that, even when considering the lower percentages in today's study, when you extrapolate them to the entire US population, the numbers are substantial. "Although it may appear to be a small percentage, 2.3% of people 'currently had activity-limiting PCC' is huge when translated into absolute numbers."

Study link: jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2828033

[theirprofoundbond]

I am SO excited to be offering an auction for this year's @fandomtrumpshate!

My auction is for one of the following—winner's choice!

Beta reading for a Supernatural fanfic of up to 50k

An editorial letter for an original work of fiction of up to 75k

The minimum bid is $5. My auction will benefit one of the following:

Freedom to Read Foundation

One of four LGBTQ+ orgs pre-selected by FTH

An org I chose to include: Rainbow Migration, a UK-based org that supports LGBTQI+ people through the asylum and immigration system

Details on what I'm offering:

Beta reading for Supernatural fanfiction: I’ll beta read a single completed fanfic of up to 50k words. I’ll do 1 thorough, top-to-bottom pass on the work, plus another 1-2 passes to help you take care of anything that crops up during my beta read that might result in rewriting or reworking. My beta reading work encompasses:

general discussions and troubleshooting

concept, plot, and structure

canon details and characterization

tone, pacing, flow, etc.

consistency/continuity

clarity with wording/visualization

spelling, punctuation, and grammar

Editorial letter for original fiction: I’ll read a single piece of completed original fiction of up to 75k words, and write an editorial letter/manuscript evaluation for you. An editorial letter is a highly personalized, in-depth analysis of your story. This type of edit is developmental/conceptual—it talks about the work as a whole, in big-picture ways. No line edits or adjustments to the text itself are being done. While an editorial letter typically includes some positive feedback, it focuses on constructive criticism. The contents are entirely customized to whatever is going on in your story; I offer my insights as well as possible options for addressing weaknesses or issues.

If this sounds scary, don’t worry! I’m very gentle, and the goal is to deliver useful, actionable feedback that you can use to create a stronger draft. I highly recommend this type of edit if you’re looking to pitch your story to agents and/or seek traditional publication. The market rate for an editorial letter is easily several hundred dollars at minimum, so this is a steal!

My Experience:

Fanfiction: I've posted over 100k words' worth of my own fanfiction on AO3, and I've beta read over 300k words' worth of fanfiction for other authors. I've written a well-received guide to beta reading for both authors and beta readers.

Original fiction: I'm a Staff Editor for @duckprintspress, an independent press that publishes original fiction by authors of fanfiction! I've been involved with the Press since October 2022 and I've worked with 8 different authors to edit 9 short stories that have been published in 3 of our physical and e-book anthologies. I'm currently editing an additional 3 short stories and a novel of 100k+ words. As a freelance editor, I've edited several short stories and a few novels. I have experience working on novel-length fanfics that were turned into original stories.

As both a beta reader and an editor, I'm gentle, patient and friendly. My approach to editing is that I'm not here to tell you what to do, I'm here to help you tell the story you want to tell.

See my auction listing for the full details.

💲 Bidding opens on Tuesday, February 25, and closes on Saturday, March 2.

❤️ Signal boosts are greatly appreciated!

💪 Let's raise some money for charity!

[ageless-aislynn]

Title: “15 Minutes” (9/?) Author:  @ageless-aislynn​ Characters/fandom: Master Chief John-117/Reader, Halo the series Summary: You're in peril but don't be afraid, help is near. Series: How to date a Spartan (without even trying) Rating:  T (PG13) Length: 2,568 (this chapter, 22,261 total so far) Spoilers: Set in the Silver Timeline of Halo the series, not the games or novels. Though we began with the events of Halo 1x06, there will be no more show spoilers. We are still firmly seated in the AU Warthog, merrily driving out to places where there’s only a passing nod to canon. 😉 Trigger warning: claustrophobia Disclaimer: Definitely not mine but I do enjoy borrowing them just for a bit! 😉 A/N:  Text is both here in this post or available at AO3, however you like to read. Halo season 2 has finally arrived! However, this fic continues to zip along in the AU Party Warthog, so, while we began with season 1 way back when (and you’ll see a few more things from s1 along the way 😉), we’ll not be venturing into s2 territory at all. Unless s2 is going to take some verrrrry interesting twists, lol! Chapter 10 is in progress by hand but I hope to have it ready soon. 🤞😣🤞 The tags have been updated for hurt/comfort starting with this chapter. If you read, I hope you enjoy! ⭐💖⭐

Taglist: @pinheadbanger​ @mysardencut​ @laurenstacy610​ @sporadicbelievernightmare​ @ultrablackwidower​ @bxmxtx​ @jellotherelol

If you would like to be tagged in my John/Reader fics, just let me know! I also write John/Kai, John/Cortana and Kai/male Reader, so I’m glad to tag you for whatever you’d like. If you would like to be removed from the taglist, also feel free to let me know, no harm, no foul. 😉 💖

Halo fic masterlist ⭐

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8

Trigger warning again: claustrophobia If you need to avoid the actual scene, skip the entire first section but there will be a lot of mentions of it again through the rest of the chapter, just so you're aware. I don't want to cause any distress to anyone so if you'd like a recap of what happens in this chapter, feel free to contact me here and I'm happy to oblige so you can stay in-the-know without reading something that could trigger a bad reaction. Stay safe, my friends! 🤗

You tried to gasp in a breath but there was a weight pinning you down. Smoke burned your lungs and your eyes. Your left arm couldn't move but you were able to bring your right hand up to wipe your face, trying to clear your vision. The only light in the rubble came from a shower of sparks a few feet away, emitting from a panel half-ripped from the wall. There was very little to orientate yourself by.

"Hello?" you tried to call but you couldn't take a deep enough breath to yell. The muffled ring in your ears told you that at least one of your eardrums had ruptured.

Evaluate, you thought in the tone you used when triaging patients, shoving down a wave of panic. You tried to squeeze out from under whatever was pressed across your back. No good, too much weight.

There wasn't a tremendous amount of pain but you worried at the numbness from your waist down, behind whatever was restraining you.

Evaluate.

You tested moving your legs, your feet, your toes. It felt strange but yes, you had movement.

Spinal cord potentially compromised but not severed, you diagnosed as clinically as possible.

Something overhead gave an alarming groan.

Alert help. Report your position.

"Hello? I'm by the crane operator booth. Can anyone hear me?"

You couldn't get the volume you wanted and you automatically tried to inhale deeper. You couldn't and had to fight another wave of panic. The animal part of your brain wanted to claw the twisted metal of the deck, trying to squirm free, but when you twitched, something above you groaned again.

You had no way to know how perilous the collapsed structure was. A wrong move could bring it all down.

A fresh wave of smoke irritated your nose and you coughed weakly. From far away, you heard the muffled sound of a woman saying your rank and last name.

"Here," you choked out. "I'm here."

A blue light shimmered a few feet away, the lower half of a blue-tinted woman, her upper body phased through the rubble. Then she shrank until she fit the space, adjusting like a camera lens. A hologram.

She repeated your rank and last name. "We have your location," she said, your damaged hearing distorting her voice. "Sit tight, a rescue crew is on their way."

You tried to respond but the smoke triggered more coughing, so you nodded.

"I'll stay with you for as long as the holo-emiter holds," she said, gesturing towards the ruined wall panel that continued to spark.

"Thank you," you managed to say. "Casualties?"

She glanced up and away as if receiving new information. "Reports coming in of injuries but no fatalities. Your alert gave enough time for almost everyone to get clear."

"Good." You made yourself slow your breathing down, taking shallow breaths since you couldn't take deeper ones. For a moment, your head swam and it felt like the floor tipped. Your fingers scratched for a hold on the crumpled metal.

The sound of your rank and name cut through the terror. "You're all right," the woman assured you. "You're not falling. Try to stay still. Silver Team will be back on site in a few more minutes. John will be here soon."

It gave you something to focus on other than bring trapped. The way she knew that the mention of John would comfort you, that she didn't call him Master Chief like most people did, even the mannerism of how she'd looked away, like someone was speaking in her ear...

"Your name wouldn't be Ms. Classified, would it?" you asked haltingly and tried to smile.

"That's... not inaccurate," she said and maybe it was your blurry vision but you could've sworn she gave you a fond smile, like she knew you. "I'm not supposed to tell my name."

You tried to say it was all right but couldn't draw enough breath.

"Ah, screw it," she said. "What are they going to do, fire me? My name is Cortana."

You must've blacked out because the next thing you knew, she was kneeling next to you, her small holographic hand resting atop your outstretched arm as she repeated your rank and name.

If you could get a breath, you needed a good, solid breath. Your chest instinctively fought to expand but couldn't beneath the pressure bearing down on your back. Something above you slid and the pressure abruptly worsened. You clawed, you fought, you struggled to breathe. To live.

"John, get here now! The support beam is failing!"

"Not his fault," you tried to say. "Tell him. Not his--"

Metal screamed and everything went dark.

You woke, grasping at nothing. You still couldn't get a deep breath but this time you were on your back and it felt like someone had laced a corset brutally tight around you.

"Easy there. You're all right," said a deep voice.

Your vision swam and then Spartan Vannak-134 appeared out from the dim lighting. You were still clawing at the air, trying to sit up, and he caught your hand a little awkwardly in his much larger ones.

"Where?" you gasped.

"You're back on Reach, in medical."

Once he said it, details emerged like a black and white picture filling in with color: the beeps of the monitors, the distinctive antiseptic smell. Your hearing was still deadened but not as much as before, meaning they had already begun healing therapies on your eardrums.

Anything you might've wanted to say dissolved like sugar on your tongue before the words could be spoken. Your head seemed too full. I'm drugged, you thought and that was the last thing you knew for a while.

Voices drew you from the murky depths and you tried to open your eyes but couldn't.

"Hold her hand," Vannak said in a quiet rumble. "She likes that."

A new hand gently folded around yours and your fingers instinctively gripped hold.

You woke, feeling the phantom press of metal bearing down on you, forcing the air from your lungs. You tried to sit up, your limbs flailed, uncoordinated and leaden. A second hand closed around yours and a feminine voice began to softly sing, a lullaby in a language you didn't recognize.

The room was blurry but you caught a glimpse of red hair -- Spartan Riz-028. You went under once more, dreaming of music that soothed your fears.

Later, there was a new voice to lure you up from the sticky darkness.

"Poor little thing. She looks so small."

"She'll heal. Hold her hand, it helps."

At some point, you jolted awake to find your hand cradled carefully within Kai's.

"Hey," she said, sitting up straighter in the chair next to the bed. "You need anything?"

Your head felt less stuffed with cotton than before but now that cotton seemed to have been transferred to your mouth. "Water?" you croaked.

She jumped up and returned shortly, carrying a cup with a straw in it. You intended to sit up but a searing pain in your ribs immediately convinced you that was a bad idea and you let her help you by holding the straw to your lips.

"Slowly," she advised.

Once you'd taken a couple of sips, you mumbled your thanks then promptly passed out.

You thought you'd closed your eyes for a brief moment but when they fluttered open, it wasn't Kai sitting in the chair, holding your hand.

As soon as John knew you were awake, he was on his feet, carefully brushing the fingertips of his free hand along the curve of your cheek.

You mouthed his name.

"Rest," he said. "I'm here. You're safe."

For the first time in what seemed like forever, you truly felt as if you were. Your mind let go.

"And how's our favorite mech, the Hero of the Pit?"

"That's not a very heroic name," you confessed, smiling as Maria and then Jamie entered medical.

You were sitting on the side of the bed in generic gray scrubs, waiting for Dr. Savannah to give you final instructions before your release. It had been two days since the explosion. Your hearing had, thankfully, returned to normal. The rest of you... not so much but you were on the mend.

They both gave you careful hugs.

"You look a lot less like you were squashed by a building," Jamie said sincerely and Maria punched his arm. "Hey, that was a compliment!"

"Don't make me laugh," you begged, holding your left side. They'd fused your broken ribs back together but the tissue damage would take longer to resolve. Still, aches, pains, limited motion and all, you knew you were very lucky.

"I hope they're giving you a nice vacation, at least," Maria went on.

"I should be ready for light duty in a week."

"Technically, I said we'd evaluate you for light duty in a week," Dr. Savannah corrected as she entered. "Afraid your friends will have to catch up with you later."

They said their goodbyes and, as they left, you started to stand. The doctor quickly said, "No, you don't. I don't want you walking on that leg."

"It's not broken," you argued.

"Not anymore," she countered. "Stay put. I got you a ride."

"I don't need to be wheeled back to the barracks." You tried to keep your tone confident but the truth was even that little bit of exertion had left you feeling twinges all along your left leg. Your left shoulder throbbed with each heartbeat.

"Well, good thing you're wrong on both counts," she said, winking. "And here he is now."

John came through the door, dressed in his undersuit as if either about to head to the Brokkr stations to have his Mjolnir mounted up or returning from having it removed. You didn't even realize you'd moved to rise again until Dr. Savannah put a practiced hand on your good shoulder to keep you down.

"I'll be sending PT to you twice a day, starting tomorrow," she said. "They'll help you to get your strength and mobility back. Around that, rest. Catch up on your reading, watch some thoroughly trashy movies, and keep your feet up. Not too far up, though. Nothing too strenuous. Make him do all of the work."

That got you to look at her and she waggled her eyebrows.

John cleared his throat slightly, a faint but definite flush creeping up from his collar. "Yes, ma'am."

"All right, see you back in a few days, sooner if anything else develops. You know what to watch for."

It wasn't until she stepped back and John approached that it clicked.

"You're going to carry me?"

"Yes, ma'am," he repeated in a murmur that shivered straight down your spine.

Since your left side had taken the brunt of the damage, he put your right to his chest and cautiously picked you up in a bridal carry. Despite the care, being moved set a thousand things to hurting and your breath hitched as he straightened.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," you said, your tone tighter than you would've liked. You thought, I hope nobody sees me being toted around like this, but, as soon as you left medical, you realized that no one was actually looking at you.

I think if Master Chief offered to drop me and pick up any marine, ODST or officer in this hall, they'd be hopping into his arms before I even hit the floor!

At the first turn he made, you realized the rest of it. "This isn't the way to the barracks."

"Nope," he said and you knew him well enough now to see the hint of a smile in his eyes.

You didn't have to wait for further clues, there was only one place, then, that he could be taking you. "How many strings did you have to pull for this?"

"Not as many as you might think," he demurred. "Your actions saved lives."

And they could've blamed you for failing to make sure a bomb hadn't been sent to the Pit in the first place. The curly tailed Warthog had been your responsibility, after all. You'd been curtly informed of all that when they'd debriefed you the first day you'd had your eyes open for more than 15 minutes.

You doubted they'd told that to John, though.

When you reached his room, he maneuvered so to get his thumb on the panel without jostling you too much. The lights came on as he took you through the doorway and then he paused.

"Kai," he rumbled, shaking his head. "She said studies show people heal better with color. I should've known she'd overdo it. Say the word and I'll have her in here clearing this out."

"It's your room," you said, "but personally, I love it."

The duvet on the bed and the pillows on the couch were now a rainbow of jewel tones. A tapestry with a field of sunflowers dominated the wall at the foot of the bed and you could've sworn there was a dusting of diamond glitter shimmering on every wall, sending tiny holographic rainbows through the air in all directions. But the main thing that caught your attention was overhead.

"She put up stars," you said, brightening.

"Ah, that one was actually me," he confessed. "You seemed to really like those in her room so I thought..."

You stretched up in his arms, inhaling a little sharply at the stab of pain in your left side, and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I love them, John. Thank you."

A short time later, you found yourself lying on the bed in the darkened room, looking up at those stars. John had profusely apologized for not being able to stay after getting you settled in. He'd turned down the bed so you wouldn't have to, had put your padd close at hand on the nightstand to the right along with a bottle of water and a couple of emergency ration packs in case you got hungry before someone bought you a meal. He'd even procured you a set of unthinkably soft civvies to change into, exactly your size and in your favorite color.

You couldn't imagine that a Spartan had ever taken care of a sick or wounded person before, other than in a battlefield triage situation, so he'd probably found a checklist from somewhere to guide him. His earnestness to make sure he'd done everything right sent warmth flooding through you.

Before he left, he'd paused to kiss the top of your head.

"You know," you said, lifting your chin, "my lips aren't broken."

He hesitated. "The last time I did that, an entire base fell on you."

"Only the warehouse part," you said dismissively, "and there was absolutely no correlation, I promise."

He tried to smile at that but his eyes still showed concern.

"I promise," you repeated more seriously and he exhaled as if about to make a tremendous leap. His kiss was so soft and gentle, it was barely more than a whisper against your mouth.

Once he had left, you'd considered taking Dr. Savannah's advice and watching a holo, reading something on your padd, or doing any number of things to pass the time but ultimately, you'd wanted to appreciate his handiwork.

After all, it wasn't just anybody who could say a Spartan had literally hung the stars for them.

[louciferish]

Final step in the de-Rowlingification of my life: yesterday I orphaned all 13 of my archived HP fics.

I wrote the majority of my HP works in 2005-2007, when I was really active in a LiveJournal community that circled around the series. (iykyk, and some of you do)

I was always far more invested in the fandom side of HP and the relationships and culture built around it. Not going to say I saw the issues with the books when I was reading them in terms of the stereotyping, racism, and stuff, but I was a teenager. I was openly critical of the actual books even in fandom spaces because I simply didn't think they were particularly well-written.

I read something once that said the key to something having a creative fandom is that it's a) good enough to draw people in but b) bad enough to leave a lot of unanswered questions and things to fix. HP was certainly that.

My last ever HP fanfic was written in early 2018 as part of a fic request fundraiser I ran to raise money for reproductive rights.

When the shit started to hit the fan the following year, with Rowling's beliefs becoming really trans(heh)parent, I really quickly divested myself of my books and DVDs. It was easy to get rid of them because my attachment was to the community and not the books.

We also got rid of other official merch in the house right away -- mugs, scarves, ties, etc. I never had much official stuff, but I'd gotten a few things as gifts.

By 2020, I was left with the following: a clay pot that says Floo Powder that a friend gave me, a felt snowy owl that another friend made and gave me as a gift, two bumper stickers still on my car that I'd put on in 2015, and 13 HP fanfics I'd written.

In 2022, I started to see the bumper stickers as something I had to explain away to new friends. I bought some new bumper stickers and covered those, so now my car only supports US Figure Skating (also problematic sometimes!) and Omegamart.

This year, when I decided to participate in Fandom Trumps Hate, I wanted to use the "any of my previous fandoms" option on what to write, but those HP fics were an issue. I used the tag, but I put in my DNWs that I wouldn't accept requests for HP, nor would I write HP AUs for other fandoms. I doubt anyone was eager to ask me for that anyway, but I didn't want to risk not saying it.

Yesterday, with the UK Supreme Court ruling, I first made a donation to Mermaids UK, and then, later in the day, orphaned all the HP works. I just don't want that media associated with me anymore. Not at all.

I'm now down to just the floo powder jar and the owl. The owl, I think, is just an owl, but the jar will need to go. I'm planning to donate some clothes to the animal shelter thrift store locally later today, so I'll put it in that box. And then, everything overtly HP-related in my house will have been disposed.

There's an interesting add-on I could write to this about how I'm responding to the Gaiman situation as well, and what is different about that for me, but I think that's too far off this topic, so we'll save that for later if anyone wants to know.

I'm not saying that everyone should do exactly what I've done. We all have to make our own choices, and if you're not giving Rowling new money then I think your personal decision about keeping or getting rid of things, participating in the fandom or not, is down to how you feel and your own relationship to the media and the fandom. But I would encourage everyone to put some thought into your feelings and also how your image reflects to others. If you make a new friend, and they come to your house for the first time and see a Hufflepuff banner on the wall, what might they think that means? If a new reader goes to your AO3 profile to see what else you wrote and finds 20+ HP fanfics, especially if some of them are recent, how will you be perceived? Again, you have to answer these questions for your own situation and also evaluate how much you do or don't care. But, personally, I don't want to run any risk of someone seeing a story, a sticker, or anything else minor that I've left around and worrying that I might be a sneaky transphobe. That's where I stand with it. Rowling directly funds political action to make the world a worse place to be trans, and I don't see a ton of difference between having a Deathly Hallows bumper sticker and wearing a MAGA hat right now.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Cigna’s nopeinator

I'm touring my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me THURSDAY (May 2) in WINNIPEG, then Calgary (May 3), Vancouver (May 4), Tartu, Estonia, and beyond!

Cigna – like all private health insurers – has two contradictory imperatives:

To keep its customers healthy; and

To make as much money for its shareholders as is possible.

Now, there's a hypothetical way to resolve these contradictions, a story much beloved by advocates of America's wasteful, cruel, inefficient private health industry: "If health is a "market," then a health insurer that fails to keep its customers healthy will lose those customers and thus make less for its shareholders." In this thought-experiment, Cigna will "find an equilibrium" between spending money to keep its customers healthy, thus retaining their business, and also "seeking efficiencies" to create a standard of care that's cost-effective.

But health care isn't a market. Most of us get our health-care through our employers, who offer small handful of options that nevertheless manage to be so complex in their particulars that they're impossible to directly compare, and somehow all end up not covering the things we need them for. Oh, and you can only change insurers once or twice per year, and doing so incurs savage switching costs, like losing access to your family doctor and specialists providers.

Cigna – like other health insurers – is "too big to care." It doesn't have to worry about losing your business, so it grows progressively less interested in even pretending to keep you healthy.

The most important way for an insurer to protect its profits at the expense of your health is to deny care that your doctor believes you need. Cigna has transformed itself into a care-denying assembly line.

Dr Debby Day is a Cigna whistleblower. Dr Day was a Cigna medical director, charged with reviewing denied cases, a job she held for 20 years. In 2022, she was forced out by Cigna. Writing for Propublica and The Capitol Forum, Patrick Rucker and David Armstrong tell her story, revealing the true "equilibrium" that Cigna has found:

https://www.propublica.org/article/cigna-medical-director-doctor-patient-preapproval-denials-insurance

Dr Day took her job seriously. Early in her career, she discovered a pattern of claims from doctors for an expensive therapy called intravenous immunoglobulin in cases where this made no medical sense. Dr Day reviewed the scientific literature on IVIG and developed a Cigna-wide policy for its use that saved the company millions of dollars.

This is how it's supposed to work: insurers (whether private or public) should permit all the medically necessary interventions and deny interventions that aren't supported by evidence, and they should determine the difference through internal reviewers who are treated as independent experts.

But as the competitive landscape for US healthcare dwindled – and as Cigna bought out more parts of its supply chain and merged with more of its major rivals – the company became uniquely focused on denying claims, irrespective of their medical merit.

In Dr Day's story, the turning point came when Cinga outsourced pre-approvals to registered nurses in the Philippines. Legally, a nurse can approve a claim, but only an MD can deny a claim. So Dr Day and her colleagues would have to sign off when a nurse deemed a procedure, therapy or drug to be medically unnecessary.

This is a complex determination to make, even under ideal circumstances, but Cigna's Filipino outsource partners were far from ideal. Dr Day found that nurses were "sloppy" – they'd confuse a mother with her newborn baby and deny care on that grounds, or confuse an injured hip with an injured neck and deny permission for an ultrasound. Dr Day reviewed a claim for a test that was denied because STI tests weren't "medically necessary" – but the patient's doctor had applied for a test to diagnose a toenail fungus, not an STI.

Even if the nurses' evaluations had been careful, Dr Day wanted to conduct her own, thorough investigation before overriding another doctor's judgment about the care that doctor's patient warranted. When a nurse recommended denying care "for a cancer patient or a sick baby," Dr Day would research medical guidelines, read studies and review the patient's record before signing off on the recommendation.

This was how the claims denial process is said to work, but it's not how it was supposed to work. Dr Day was markedly slower than her peers, who would "click and close" claims by pasting the nurses' own rationale for denying the claim into the relevant form, acting as a rubber-stamp rather than a skilled reviewer.

Dr Day knew she was slower than her peers. Cigna made sure of that, producing a "productivity dashboard" that scored doctors based on "handle time," which Cigna describes as the average time its doctors spend on different kinds of claims. But Dr Day and other Cigna sources say that this was a maximum, not an average – a way of disciplining doctors.

These were not long times. If a doctor asked Cigna not to discharge their patient from hospital care and a nurse denied that claim, the doctor reviewing that claim was supposed to spend not more than 4.5 minutes on their review. Other timelines were even more aggressive: many denials of prescription drugs were meant to be resolved in fewer than two minutes.

Cigna told Propublica and The Capitol Forum that its productivity scores weren't based on a simple calculation about whether its MD reviewers were hitting these brutal processing time targets, describing the scores as a proprietary mix of factors that reflected a nuanced view of care. But when Propublica and The Capitol Forum created a crude algorithm to generate scores by comparing a doctor's performance relative to the company's targets, they found the results fit very neatly into the actual scores that Cigna assigned to its docs:

The newsrooms’ formula accurately reproduced the scores of 87% of the Cigna doctors listed; the scores of all but one of the rest fell within 1 to 2 percentage points of the number generated by this formula. When asked about this formula, Cigna said it may be inaccurate but didn’t elaborate.

As Dr Day slipped lower on the productivity chart, her bosses pressured her bring her score up (Day recorded her phone calls and saved her emails, and the reporters verified them). Among other things, Dr Day's boss made it clear that her annual bonus and stock options were contingent on her making quota.

Cigna denies all of this. They smeared Dr Day as a "disgruntled former employee" (as though that has any bearing on the truthfulness of her account), and declined to explain the discrepancies between Dr Day's accusations and Cigna's bland denials.

This isn't new for Cigna. Last year, Propublica and Capitol Forum revealed the existence of an algorithmic claims denial system that allowed its doctors to bulk-deny claims in as little as 1.2 seconds:

https://www.propublica.org/article/cigna-pxdx-medical-health-insurance-rejection-claims

Cigna insisted that this was a mischaracterization, saying the system existed to speed up the approval of claims, despite the first-hand accounts of Cigna's own doctors and the doctors whose care recommendations were blocked by the system. One Cigna doctor used this system to "review" and deny 60,000 claims in one month.

Beyond serving as an indictment of the US for-profit health industry, and of Cigna's business practices, this is also a cautionary tale about the idea that critical AI applications can be resolved with "humans in the loop."

AI pitchmen claim that even unreliable AI can be fixed by adding a "human in the loop" that reviews the AI's judgments:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/23/maximal-plausibility/#reverse-centaurs

In this world, the AI is an assistant to the human. For example, a radiologist might have an AI double-check their assessments of chest X-rays, and revisit those X-rays where the AI's assessment didn't match their own. This robot-assisted-human configuration is called a "centaur."

In reality, "human in the loop" is almost always a reverse-centaur. If the hospital buys an AI, fires half its radiologists and orders the remainder to review the AI's superhuman assessments of chest X-rays, that's not an AI assisted radiologist, that's a radiologist-assisted AI. Accuracy goes down, but so do costs. That's the bet that AI investors are making.

Many AI applications turn out not to even be "AI" – they're just low-waged workers in an overseas call-center pretending to be an algorithm (some Indian techies joke that AI stands for "absent Indians"). That was the case with Amazon's Grab and Go stores where, supposedly, AI-enabled cameras counted up all the things you put in your shopping basket and automatically billed you for them. In reality, the cameras were connected to Indian call-centers where low-waged workers made those assessments:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/29/pay-no-attention/#to-the-little-man-behind-the-curtain

This Potemkin AI represents an intermediate step between outsourcing and AI. Over the past three decades, the growth of cheap telecommunications and logistics systems let corporations outsource customer service to low-waged offshore workers. The corporations used the excuse that these subcontractors were far from the firm and its customers to deny them any agency, giving them rigid scripts and procedures to follow.

This was a very usefully dysfunctional system. As a customer with a complaint, you would call the customer service line, wait for a long time on hold, spend an interminable time working through a proscribed claims-handling process with a rep who was prohibited from diverging from that process. That process nearly always ended with you being told that nothing could be done.

At that point, a large number of customers would have given up on getting a refund, exchange or credit. The money paid out to the few customers who were stubborn or angry enough to karen their way to a supervisor and get something out of the company amounted to pennies, relative to the sums the company reaped by ripping off the rest.

The Amazon Grab and Go workers were humans in robot suits, but these customer service reps were robots in human suits. The software told them what to say, and they said it, and all they were allowed to say was what appeared on their screens. They were reverse centaurs, serving as the human faces of the intransigent robots programmed by monopolists that were too big to care.

AI is the final stage of this progression: robots without the human suits. The AI turns its "human in the loop" into a "moral crumple zone," which Madeleine Clare Elish describes as "a component that bears the brunt of the moral and legal responsibilities when the overall system malfunctions":

https://estsjournal.org/index.php/ests/article/view/260

The Filipino nurses in the Cigna system are an avoidable expense. As Cigna's own dabbling in algorithmic claim-denial shows, they can be jettisoned in favor of a system that uses productivity dashboards and other bossware to push doctors to robosign hundreds or thousands of denials per day, on the pretense that these denials were "reviewed" by a licensed physician.

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/2024/04/29/what-part-of-no/#dont-you-understand

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Hi! Hope you're doing well 🌟

Do you have any advice on how to write ten year olds? Like, not physically but emotionally. One of my main characters is ten years old and I wanna make sure I get it right, sometimes I feel like I'm giving him the emotional maturity of the characters that surround him that are in their 20s and 30s but idk ://

Writing Notes: Emotional Development

Emotional Development

Also called affective development.

A gradual increase in the capacity to experience, express, and interpret the full range of emotions and in the ability to cope with them appropriately.

Cortical control, imitation of others, hormonal influences, home atmosphere, and conditioning play major roles in emotional development.

It is nearly impossible to imagine emotional development as separate from changes in cognitive development that occur in the first two decades of life.

As memory and thinking become more complex and abstract, emotional development changes as well.

Similarly, markers of emotional development are intimately linked to a child’s social experiences.

The following examples are major markers of change in emotional development as they occur within a social context.

Emotional competence (7 to 10 years). Emotion expressions are used to manage relationship dynamics, such as smiling at a new friend (Saarni & Camras, 2022).

Emotion regulation (infancy through adulthood). Emotion regulation strategies are processes used to monitor, evaluate, and modify our emotional reactions in order to achieve a goal. Strategies become more sophisticated from extrinsically based regulation in infancy to more intrinsically based regulation from preschool-age through adulthood (Eisenberg et al., 2010; Thompson & Goodvin, 2007).

8 to 9 years: Cognitive emotion regulation strategies emerge, and children begin to use thoughts and feelings about themselves and others to control their emotions (Garnefski et al., 2007).

The ability to regulate our emotions is one of the most important skills for learning, social relationships, and mental health. 

Adolescence - The period of human development that starts with puberty (10–12 years of age) and ends with physiological maturity (approximately 19 years of age), although the exact age span varies across individuals.

During this period, major changes occur at varying rates in physical characteristics, sexual characteristics, and sexual interest, resulting in significant effects on body image, self-concept, and self-esteem.

Major cognitive and social developments take place as well: Most young people acquire enhanced abilities to think abstractly, evaluate reality hypothetically, reconsider prior experiences from altered points of view, assess data from multiple dimensions, reflect inwardly, create complex models of understanding, and project complicated future scenarios.

Adolescents also increase their peer focus and involvement in peer-related activities, place greater emphasis on social acceptance, and seek more independence and autonomy from parents.

How Emotions Develop in Adolescence

Once self-conscious emotions such as guilt, embarrassment, and shame emerge in middle childhood, very few new emotions develop. Adolescents’ cognitive skills to reason about abstract concepts improve their ability to manage and reason about their own emotions and improve emotional competence in relationships (Rosenblum & Lewis, 2006).

Research on adolescent emotional development shows how emotions change during this time of rapid physical development.

Emotion Expression. Emotion expression in adolescence differs from that in childhood and adulthood. Adolescents report experiencing greater extremes of emotion and more negative mood states than adults. Adolescent emotional experiences are reported to include less happiness than during childhood (Rosenblum & Lewis, 2006).

Emotional Dissemblance. Emotional dissemblance is the ability to separate one’s emotional expressions from one’s internal feelings. Children learn how to control the emotions they display in order to avoid negative outcomes. During adolescence, teens begin to display expressions according to the norms of adult interaction (Rosenblum & Lewis, 2006); for example, the ability to outwardly display a facial expression of congratulations to a competitor immediately after a tough loss, while feeling intense emotion internally.

Emotional Competence. A successful transition to adulthood is associated with increased emotional competence across several skills during adolescence; for example, learning to regulate intense emotions, knowing how to attend to emotions without becoming overwhelmed by them, and learning how to manage interpersonal relationships in the midst of intense emotions (Rosenblum & Lewis, 2006).

Emotional Maturity - A high and appropriate level of emotional control and expression.

Prerequisites for Developing Emotional Maturity

Emotional maturity is a skill that can be nurtured and developed through psychoeducation, therapy, and coaching (Kaur et al., 2015).

Possessing or developing the following characteristics provides the foundation for developing emotional maturity:

Personal Reflection & Self-Awareness. Self-awareness and a willingness to reflect on one’s emotions and behaviors are crucial for the growth and development of emotional maturity (Herwig et al., 2010).

Openness to Feedback. Personal growth and emotional maturity are dependent on our willingness to accept and learn from constructive criticism (McEnrue et al., 2009).

Commitment to Growth. Personal growth is hard work and requires a dedication to ongoing personal development and emotional learning (Bauer & McAdams, 2004).

Empathy. The ability to identify, interpret, and share the feelings of others is integral to emotional maturity (McNaughton, 2016).

Resilience. All personal growth requires the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties and adapt to change (Still, 2023).

Sources: 1 2 3 ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

There are some children who exhibit the same (or almost similar) level of emotional maturity of adults surrounding them, depending on the circumstances. Consider these notes and incorporate which ones are most suitable for your own story. Hope you're doing well yourself, and that this helps with your writing! :)

[mariacallous]

Artificial intelligence (AI) is now firmly a part of the hiring process. Some candidates use large language models (LLMs) to write cover letters and resumes, while employers use various proprietary AI systems to evaluate candidates. Recent estimates found as many as 98.4% of Fortune 500 companies leverage AI in the hiring process, and one company saved over a million dollars in a single year by incorporating AI into its interview process. While this figure is lower for non-Fortune 500 companies, it is still expected to grow from 51% to 68% by the end of 2025 because of the potential time and cost savings for employers. However, when these systems are deployed at scale, they can introduce a myriad of biases that can potentially impact millions of job seekers annually.

With more companies choosing to use AI in employment screening, these systems should face more scrutiny to ensure they comply with laws against discrimination. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces various laws that make it illegal for employers to discriminate against employees or job applicants on the basis of their race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, or genetic information. According to guidance published by the EEOC in 2022, using AI systems does not change employers’ responsibility to ensure their selection procedures are not discriminatory, either intentionally or unintentionally. While this guidance was removed when President Donald J. Trump assumed office in January 2025, there has been no change in anti-discrimination laws. Investigations into AI hiring systems continue to be an important tool in evaluating the risks these systems pose and discovering ways to mitigate their potential societal harms. For example, in the U.K., an audit of AI recruitment software revealed multiple fairness and privacy vulnerabilities; in response to these findings, the Information Commissioner’s Office issued nearly 300 recommendations for ways to improve hiring practices that model providers and developers used in their products. 

[protect-daniel-james]

Would love to hear your thoughts about Bramley-Moore Dock!

Oh, what an ask! Where do I even begin?

(I dedicated a big part of my master's thesis to it, and I still know shit about it, lmao). I was in Liverpool three times - in October 2022, April 2023, and finally in September 2024, and every time I went to see it (the first two trips were "part of my research", so I say).

Disclaimer at first: I love Liverpool. I love the city, I love the vibe, I love the accent, I love the humor - I know it's the stereotype but I genuinely think there is some truth in it, having a laugh because what else can you do. "Supposedly universal Scouse qualities as resilience, cheery buoyancy in the face of adversity, and the ubiquitous good sense of humour" ; "micro-culture of truculent defiance, collective solidarity and fatalist humour” - I love all of it. Or maybe I'm just in awe of port cities (coming from a landlocked country) and I love people calling you "luv". So, I will never be fully objective when it comes to this.

Anyway! Back to Bramley-Moore Dock! I, in general, love old stadiums, stadiums that have been built in ancient times, because of the things I write about in the enfermo Unai stories - the history, the heritage, the place the old stadium has in the folklore, and the role it plays in the memories of the supporters. I highly recommend the two books - or, rather, one book and one thesis - that changed my life and made me a stadium fucker (not literally), and that I use a lot for stuff in building Unai's World of Wonder & Fútbol:

Frank, S., Steets, S. (eds.) (2010). Stadium Worlds: Football, Space, and the Built Environment. Routledge.

Thomas, F. E. (2018). The visual culture of football – heritage and nostalgia in ground moves. [University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom].

I could copy and paste all the literature I gathered for my research lmao. But these two volumes I really remember fondly and come back to for a quick skim when writing about Unai.

Well, during my visits to Liverpool, I saw the stadium "coming to life". And, I will be honest, at first, I hated the idea of a club moving to a new place. Obviously, as a latent West Ham fan, I have had my share of (online) experience of fans moaning about "the soulless bowl" of London Stadium, and the neverending longing for the Boleyn Ground spirit and atmosphere. BUT - I think the difference in Liverpool is the placement of the new stadium.

(left: April 2023, right: September 2024)

I think the dock was/is a genius idea, especially once the waterfront is fully regenerated and the actual "promenade" reaches all the way from the city center to the stadium. Honestly, as things stand now, the stadium is in a very "wasteland-like" area, and I feel like the current bus routes only rarely pass anywhere near it? (I walked there every time from the city center and back lmao). There's basically nothing to see around as you walk down Regent Road. I'm curious to see how it will look at the beginning of the new season - and a few years from now on. (In a few years’ time, hopefully, it will be possible to evaluate whether 'marching down the Regent Road' will retain some of the qualities and values associated with the practice of 'marching down the Goodison Road'.)

Tl;dr I started off as a new stadium hater. But when the move is inevitable - there should be a place of significance in the city used for the new stadium. I would hate it - and I understand why there was an uproar about those plans - if Everton had moved to Kirkby when they had the chance. Like, fuck no. The club is woven in the fabric of the city, and it should be proudly kept in it. The Fans' Led Review called for football clubs to be classed (or at least considered) as heritage, and many of them have long been treated as tourist attractions in their cities - so their placement in the city should be in line with that.

Also, since I fell in love with Liverpool, I genuinely think the Albert Docks look cool and offer so much and is in general such a great blueprint for the use of the other docks of Liverpool. So if Bramley-Moore Dock can be anything like that, I will be happy.

And it seems like the reaction of the actual Everton fans - whose opinion matters much more than mine over here - has been positive this week (I get it that with Moyes at the wheel now, everything is sunshine and flowers but I think the response has been very positive because of the location for a long time). From what I've seen, it looks really cool. I'll definitely check it out when I'm in Liverpool.

I'll end this lovely stadium fuckery with a quote from the podcast Royal Blue:

“You couldn’t have dreamt it better. If I was to interview 100 000 Everton fans across the world where would they love their brand new stadium, I guess 99 % of them would say Liverpool city centre, on the docks, on the waterfront, shining like a beacon to the rest of the world. You can’t ask for more than that. And I think that’s what they’ve got, that’s what they deserve. They’ve been patient for twenty odd years with no trophies, watching their neighbors with everything in sight – this is their reward for patience and support, and I think they deserve it.”

[nothingelsematterswrites]

logan IS NOT getting replaced at Imola (and not at Monza either), a CONFIRMED breakdown

that's right logan girlies (gn), Logan is SAFE. He's not going anywhere yet.

James was bailed up by Lawrence Barretto yesterday in the press pen, and was asked explicitly if Antonelli would be in the car at Imola. James straight up said that Antonelli will not be in the car at Imola, and that he is considering drivers for 25 and 26.

Here's the video:

James was also asked about it in the press conference, and Autosport did a write up of it which you can find here. Importantly:

“I know nothing about what's going on with the Mercedes tests right now,” said Vowles. “We are looking, as everyone else is, for where we want to be on driver line-up for next year. And we have our own young driver programme. “In the case of Kimi. I can't really adjudicate at the level he's at. In case of him coming into the car this year, I've always said from the beginning, it's a meritocracy. “Logan has to earn his seat and at the moment, he has some tough targets where he has to get much closer to Alex. But there is nothing on the radar at the moment for replacing him.”

That's the key point.

Now, the Autosport article also brought up another point. The FIA say they have received a superlicence request for Antonelli. They did not specify what type.

There are two types of superlicences. The one you hear about most commonly is a race superlicence. That's your standard one, need 40 points, etc.

But there is also a practice superlicence. This is what Logan had in 2022, enabling him to run FP1s for Williams while he tried to earn the points for his full superlicence.

It is actually entirely probable that Mercedes have put in this request for an exemption for a practice superlicence for Antonelli so that they can run him in FP1s.

Some of you may not trust James' word, and that's understandable! So, let's hear it from Toto Wolff himself, who was also asked about the rumours, and responded categorically:

"I don't know where this belief comes from that Mercedes was keen on pushing that forward. Kimi needs to concentrate on his F2 campaign and he knows that. "Everything else is just rumours, which continue to spin around and that are factually incorrect. He's an F2 driver for Prema, that is what he's doing, and this is what we're all concentrating on." Wolff stressed that Mercedes would remain careful not to burn Antonelli by promoting him too early, given his rapid rise through the junior series and his lack of experience. "Just 15 months ago, he was in an F4 car," he said. "We have great belief in Kimi, his abilities and also his future. "But there is a trajectory which we need to follow with diligence, rather than trying to dream about jumping from series to series in a way that is certainly not beneficial for him. "I think a champion is not going to be distracted by any of this. But certainly, at least it distracts me because everybody's asking me: 'What about Kimi and driving in Imola? "This is not going to happen. This is not something that Mercedes wants. These rumours have gotten their own spin. Let's do Formula 2. We as a team have lots of other issues to resolve."

So, to summarise: Toto doesn't want it. James doesn't want it. Neither of them are pushing for it. Logan has goals to meet and James is going to give him time and support to do it.

Now, James does say they're evaluating options for 2025, which I'm sure is not what some of you want to hear, but that's his job as the team boss. The market is busy right now, and if others are interested he is wise to listen. But Logan will be one of those options, if he hits the goals James has set him.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Caleb Ecarma and Judd Legum at Popular Information:

Several of Elon Musk’s associates installed at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) have received unprecedented access to federal human resources databases containing sensitive personal information for millions of federal employees. According to two members of OPM staff with direct knowledge, the Musk team running OPM has the ability to extract information from databases that store medical histories, personally identifiable information, workplace evaluations, and other private data. The staffers spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly and feared professional retaliation. Musk Watch also reviewed internal OPM correspondence confirming that expansive access to the database was provided to Musk associates.

The arrangement presents acute privacy and security risks, one of the OPM staffers said. Among the government outsiders granted entry to the OPM databases is University of California Berkeley student Akash Bobba, a software engineer who graduated high school less than three years ago. He previously interned at Meta and Palantir, a technology firm chaired by Musk-ally and fellow billionaire Peter Thiel. Edward Coristine, another 2022 high school graduate and former software engineering intern at Musk’s Neuralink, has also been given access to the databases.

Other Musk underlings embedded at OPM following President Donald Trump’s inauguration include the agency’s new chief of staff, Amanda Scales, who until January was a human resources staffer at xAI, Musk’s artificial intelligence firm, and Brian Bjelde, who has spent the past 21 years at Musk's SpaceX, including the last 10 leading the human resources department. They are joined by Gavin Kliger, a former Twitter software engineer serving as a special advisor to the director of OPM, and Riccardo Biasini, a former software engineer at Musk’s tunneling venture, the Boring Company. OPM did not respond to a request for comment. Shortly after Trump took office, OPM installed Greg Hogan to serve as its new chief information officer (CIO). Hogan was tapped to replace OPM CIO Melvin Brown, who had accepted the job less than a month ago. The civil servants who oversee the OPM’s information technology services were then instructed to provide access to Musk's associates, according to the OPM staffers who spoke to Musk Watch. One of the OPM staffers received an email from the agency’s new leadership instructing them to give Musk’s team “access [to] the system as an admin user" and "code read and write permissions." “They have access to the code itself, which means they can make updates to anything that they want,” the staffer explained. USAJOBS, the federal government’s official hiring site, was one of the systems that Musk's associates were given access to. The database stores personal information — Social Security numbers, home addresses, employment records — provided by private individuals who have applied for federal jobs, regardless of whether the applicants went on to work for the government. Musk’s aides were also given access to the OPM’s Enterprise Human Resources Integration (EHRI) system. Contained within the EHRI are the Social Security numbers, dates of birth, salaries, home addresses, and job descriptions of all civil government workers, along with any disciplinary actions they have faced. “They’re looking through all the position descriptions… to remove folks,” one of the OPM staffers said of Musk’s team. “This is how they found all these DEI offices and had them removed — [by] reviewing position description level data.” Other databases Musk’s team has access to include USA Staffing, an onboarding system; USA Performance, a job performance review site; and HI, which the government uses to manage employee health care. “The health insurance one scares me because it's HIPAA [protected] information, but they have access to all this stuff,” the OPM staffer noted.

[...] A new server being used to control these databases has been placed in a conference room that Musk’s team is using as their command center, according to an OPM staffer. The staffer described the server as a piece of commercial hardware they believed was not obtained through the proper federal procurement process. There is a legal requirement that the installation of a new server undergo a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA), a formal process to ensure the change would not create any security vulnerabilities. But in this instance, the staff believes there was no PIA. “So this application and corresponding hardware are illegally operating,” they added. On Friday, Reuters reported that some senior civil servants have been blocked from accessing the EHRI and other OPM systems, making it difficult for career OPM employees to know what Musk’s team has been examining or modifying. In the same report, the outlet revealed the team had moved sofa beds into the agency's headquarters to continue their work around the clock.

This should be a major national news scandal.

Elon Musk and the underlings he put in place at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) have jeopardized data privacy and national security.

[earhartsplane]

Since we're all talking about plagiarism now, I'd like to share this video which came out last year about a paper accepted at the CVPR 2022:

For the people not in the know, the Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition conference is the biggest conference in computer science. Last year, in 2022, the paper featured in the video got accepted. A few days later, this video was posted. The first author, a PhD student, apologized and the paper was retracted and removed from the proceedings. Hilariously, the first reaction of the co-authors, including a professor at the Seoul National University, was to say that they had nothing to do with it.

My point here is that scientific papers are not rigorously checked for plagiarism, and a background in academia tells you absolutely nothing about whether or not someone will be diligent in avoiding plagiarism. The biggest difference is that there are consequences if you're caught.

I also don't want people to be too harsh on the first author of this paper, or to think the situation is equivalent to the whole Somerton debacle. For starters, you don't get paid for publishing papers, you (or more commonly your university) pay the publishers. But the phrase publish or perish exists for a reason, and everyone in the field wants to get published in the CVPR, because it's supposed to show that you're great at research. Additionally, the number of papers and the prestige of the venues they're published in criteria on which you will be evaluated as a researcher and a university employee.

The way I see it, there are basically two kinds of plagiarism that are shown in the video. The first one concerns sentences that are lifted completely unchanged from other papers. This is bad, and it is plagiarism, but I can see how this would happen. Most instances of this appear in the introduction and on background information, so if you're insecure about your mastery of English and it's not about your contribution anyway, I can understand how you would take the shortcut of copy-pasting and tell yourself that it's just so that the rest of the paper makes sense, and why waste time on phrasing things differently if others have done it already, and it's not like there are a million way to write these equations anyways.

Let me be clear. I don't approve, or condone. It's still erasing the work of the people who took the time and pain to phrase these things. It's still plagiarism. But I understand how you could get to that point.

The second kind of plagiarism is a way bigger deal in my opinion. At 0:37 , we can see that one of the contributions of the paper is also lifted from another paper. Egregiously, the passage includes "To the best of our knowledge, this is the first [...]" , which is a hell of a thing to copy-paste. So this is not only lazily passing other people's words as your own, it's also pretending that you're making a contribution you damn well know other people have already done. I also wasn't able to find a version of the plagiarized article that had been published in a peer-reviewed venue, which might mean that the authors submitted it, got rejected, and published it on arXiv (an website on which authors can put their papers so that they're accessible to the public, but doesn't "count" as a publication because it's not peer-reviewed. You can also put papers that are under review or have been published on there as long as you're careful with the copyrights and double-blind process). And then parts of it were published in the CVPR under someone else's name.

I think there's also a third kind of plagiarism going on here, one that is incredibly common in academia, but that is not shown in the video. That's the FIVE other authors, including a professor, who were apparently happy to add their name to the paper but obviously didn't do anything meaningful since they didn't notice how much plagiarism was going on.