the atlantic had a pretty good opinion piece about AI recently and the core argument was in the era of generative AI what will differentiate people from each other is their relationship to mental effort. are you still willing and able to spend time exerting significant effort learning how to do hard things. which of course only happens through the work of actually doing those things. not sure I agree with everything in it but I think it’s a useful framework and I definitely think about this re: my work as a teacher. I think the kids who are going to do well (and by that I mean not “make a lot of money” but “remain connected to others and grounded in what it means to be human”) are the ones who learn how to do hard things. and learn to find real joy in the hard work itself. because it IS joyful! it is joyful to have a deep unshakable sense of purpose and to be working towards goals that feel truly meaningful to you. anyway thinking about this today for no particular reason
He is absolutely copying you, and cuddling, and doing the slow close of eyes that is a cat kiss! #this is one very happy cat #i hope the two of you have many years of harmony and happiness
Ok but legit the funniest part of this is that the cat just knows what he’s about to do before his tongue is even out. He’s done this more than once. A lot more.
Well it is time for the TMA X Worm post, aka, Avatar of which fear is each character. (obviously spoiler warning for both TMA and Worm)
Now, there is a shitload of characters in Worm so I'll only have some, mainly the Undersiders because they're the first to come to mind and it was really easy.
Taylor - The easy way out would be to say Avatar of the Corruption. Bugs are the excuse. She will be tormented by the Lonely, her fear of being alone in the world drives her for like half the series.
Rachel - The Hunt, but only because of the dogs and her being more animalistic. She will probably be stuck in a Web domain. She isn't really scared of much but elaborate plans anger her due to her lack of understanding.
Lisa - Avatar of the Eye, again not hard to explain. She knows shit and makes it scary. The Web is also a possibility, she do be scheming, but the Eye influence is too strong imo. Maybe she'll be tormented by the Spiral as she hates not knowing, but I'm not sure it's to the level of fear.
Brian - Again, obvious, the Dark. His power is basically the Dark manifested in the purest form. He was marked by the Flesh when Bonesaw had her fun with him.
Alec - For Alec I wasn't sure. My best guess is the Flesh, as he makes people feel as if they are meat bags to be puppeted. But it can also be the Buried because they are stuck unable to do anything. Or maybe even the Web, also known as the mother of puppets, but the control feels too direct to be Web. Actually I don't know which fear will torment him either. Please add if you have ideas.
Aisha - The Spiral. Her MO is to drive her enemies mad with fear. Again, not sure about her fear.
Amy - Amy is begrudgingly an Avatar of the Flesh while also having it as her fear. Both originated at the incident with Victoria.
Jack Slash - The Slaughter 100%. He doesn't just kill like the End, he HURTS. But he doesn't fear much so once more idk.
Bonesaw - Avatar of the Flesh. For her, everyone is just a bag of meat and organs to mess with. She might be afraid of the End but it's hard with psychopaths.
Colin - Colin gives me Hunt avatar vibes because of his relentless pursuit after his prey, whoever or whatever it is. As Armsmaster he probably feared the End, not quite death but dying without leaving an impact. But after his character arc he started caring less about himself and more about humanity as a whole, and his tormentor became the Extinction.
Dragon - Dragon can either be avatar of the Eye, when she was given access to every camera in the US. Or the Extinction, not because she did something but because she might. She fears the Buried, but instead of being trapped physically, she fears being trapped in her code's restrictions.
That's what I have for now. Please feel free to add your thoughts on other characters, or if you think one of the ones I wrote about will be different.
If I'm wrong about something because of stuff written in Ward, you can correct me but don't say why so I won't be spoiled (only read the first chapter)
The best bit of worm to me is when scapegoat gives Taylor's injuries to some goon and he instantly collapses and screams in pain, even though she was acting like nothing was wrong
Ok and with great effort I have finished my Undersiders Fashion and How It Would Change If Worm Was In 2025 Project.
My works cited page is Me. My knowledge. Also I tried to compensate for my fashion designer tendencies to make everyone look too fancy via cross referencing 2011 magazines and yearbooks and also people watching the users of my city's public transportation system and what they were wearing in the current year 2025. But y'know xcxd comic about experts overestimation and all that.
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