I can’t say where we are for sure, but this could be an age of legends. Is this wen innocent stories bloom into myths, big moves make and break the heroes of the moment, or the villains slink from the shadows with new found confidence and bloated wallets? There is no shortage of big moves, or potential heroes, but is the world being created connected enough rn to claim that everyone one day will know Groner, Dan, Georgie… Or are we in a manic phase where everyone is chasing someone else’s tail, playing catch up on all of the disjointed and unconnected streams of information? A time where hours grinding for WL spots and stealth mints have given way to companion NFTs and a never ending calendar of new mints from old projects, new roadmaps reprinted daily and new alerts about upcoming information we don’t need, siloed into discords we don’t check. Is it a crypto winter with an nft summer, or a calm before the merge where hapless projects scream into the void to try and scratch some eth off the rocket as it takes off? Maybe their last desperate attempt to snatch some success from the closing window of opportunity while the large ships abandon the early metaverse, leaving an ugly rugged world for the smaller cap blockchains to inhabit? Possible. What if, we are actually in the age of assholes and elbows? Like some giant unorganized race, where everyone starts building their own the event, rules, finish line and prizes. Like so many tangled vines, they look and even feel interconnected at times, but they don’t share anything except you, the fuel, the food, the loot. The assholes have grand schemes and early goal posts that leave them happily counting community funds, while the elbows are fighting for space, resources and attention in a continually saturated environment. I hope it’s assholes and elbows, even if some elements of all of the scenarios are true. In the “everyone rebuild the wheel and then the world” race, the chaos will subside as in any race. Each turn will claim more racers and every obstacle narrows the field. The resources may rise and fall with broader markets, but the narrowing increases attention on projects that are more likely to remain. As the race continues, opportunities to share resources that help all parties and give advantage to none are more likely to accelerate the adoption and innovation curves. As projects work on shared intersections, the chaos is further reduced and information becomes more accessible regardless of which racer you are behind. Eventually, the best competitors will protect each other, as they all plan to stand on the same podium regardless of which medal they win. Whether it’s dreams and heroes, myths and villains, or just some clumsy race, this could be the moment where you become part of the fabric of the story. Part of the history and yeah maybe even myth. You will be part of the legend of assholes and elbows, so try to be an elbow. GG

@carried_awAi