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#additional image ID under cut
thebibliosphere · 2 years
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"Nearby, a collection of the island’s residents, both mundane and supernatural, gathered at the teahouse for lunch under the guise of discussing the floral arrangements for the upcoming May Ball. But the true purpose of their early luncheon was to catch a glimpse of the new Guard Captain, rumored to have pointy ears, sharp fangs, and a fearsome set of claws that could tear a man apart.
For a populace well acquainted with vampires, this was less a point of concern, and secondary to the reports that he was tall, ruggedly handsome—and as far as the frantically churning rumor-mills of the island could yet determine, romantically unattached."
****
Meet the monster fuckers Floral Arranging Committee.
Hunger Pangs: True Love Bites by Joy Demorra, book one available now in two different editions.
Buy the (high heat) Flirting With Fangs Edition Here.
Buy the (medium heat) Fluff and Fangs Edition Here.
Why are there two versions, and what’s the difference? Glad you asked!
Don’t forget to check out the listed content warnings and corresponding heat ratings on my website at www.joydemorra.com
Alt text is provided for screen readers, with another image ID under the cut due to length.
Image ID: A collage comprising 9 images, all overtly pink and floral. The top left depicts 3 pressed flowers, one orange, one red, and one purple, against a pink background. The top middle shows a feminine figure in lacy but inaccurate Victorian attire. The dress is slipping from their shoulder provocatively, and their hat conceals their face. The top right image depicts the outline of a wolf’s head against a pink background.
The left middle image is a picture of a cup of tea surrounded by many different flower cuttings. The center middle image is pink with the words “Hunger Pangs: True Love Bites by Joy Demorra” in ornate font. The middle right picture depicts mini-cupcakes decorated in pink buttercream, topped with whipped cream and strawberries.
The bottom left image depicts a vector image of two feminine figures having tea across a table, set against a pink background. The bottom center image shows a photograph of three feminine figures wearing pretty but inaccurate Victorian attire again. They are seated behind a table laden with cakes, drinking tea. Their faces are a mixture of interest, scorn, and scrutiny. The bottom right image depicts a pressed purple flower set against a pink background.
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mcytblrsexymen · 1 year
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thanks for playing!
(an image ID is under the cut, as well as in the image description. the artists credits and their social media links are also listed under the cut - go check them out!)
hey y'all. we've been quiet a bit. that being said, we have one last thing before we get this event behind us.
this was a really special thing to be a part of. what started as a silly joke we didn't think would get very far ended up being a cultural event within the fandom. thousands of votes, participation from everyone, a thing we'll never forget. we can't express enough how exciting it was to be a part of everything. we, the mods, had a fantastic time with everything. a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience, you know?
but it wasn't us that made this what it was. it was you all.
we just want to say, from the bottoms of our hearts: thank you. thank you for all the campaigning - for a while, it was practically all we could see. thank you for all the fic - we have a canonized ao3 tag, that's wild. thank you for all the art - several fandoms were practically revitalized by this and it was beautiful to watch. thank you to the ccs who went along with the bit - it was a delight to have you playing in here with us. thank you for the stories you told with this. for the narratives you created. for alliances we would have never seen coming, for betrayals, and most of all for being here, together, doing this. thank you all so much for making this what it was.
anyway, so this art is my thanks to everyone. i commissioned a number of artists from as many different fandoms involved as i could find in hopes of capturing some of the chaotic energy of what might be some of the single most insane two weeks of my life. (and click on the piece so tumblr compression doesn't ruin it - there are SO MANY FANTASTIC DETAILS to look at!)
cheers, everyone. thanks for playing. you've made something special that i don't think we could ever create again, and it was a moment to remember.
<3, second and the sexyman mod team.
ART CREDITS:
confetti @bdoubleowo: goodtimeswithscar, technoblade, ldshadowlady, scott smajor
genesis frog @aroaceacacia: joe hills, saintstarling, itssubz, rtgame, composition, lighting/shading adjustments
siren @chronophobica: zombiecleo, grian, ranboo, tubbo
fluffy @fluffy-papaya: pixlriffs, vikingpilot, zloyxp, rythian
colten @malewifeph1lza: slimecicle, captainsparklez, jschlatt, dream, illumina
kish @kishdoodles and brynn @brynnticus: docm77, aimsey, mythicalsausage, orionsound, clownpierce, eddie the rabbit, owenjuicetv, seapeekay, ashswag, lighting/shading adjustments
td @paradoxalriven: quackity, ethoslab, stage
thank you <3
image ID: a portrayal of the mcytblr sexyman competition, as done by seven different artists, each with their own artstyle. it portrays many mcyters crowded around a stage, onto which a spotlight shines on the finalists. scar and joe are posing at each other in competition. to the right, quackity is climbing onto the stage, boosted by etho. around the stage there are a number of additional mcyters; technoblade, ldshadowlady, scott smajor, saintstarling, itssubz, rtgame, zombiecleo, grian, ranboo, tubbo, pixlriffs, vikingpilot, zloyxp, rythian, slimecicle, captainsparklez, jschlatt, dream, illumina, docm77, aimsey, mythicalsausage, orionsound, clownpierce, eddie the rabbit, owenjuicetv, seapeekay, and ashswag can all be seen cheering on contestants, talking to each other, and watching the competition. there are additional nondescript shadows around the stage in the background, implying an even larger crowd. the image also has the logo for the competition on it.
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najia-cooks · 3 months
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[ID: First image is of a golden brown boule studded with blueberries and covered with seeds; second image shows the boule cut in half to show a holely bread with blueberries throughout. End ID]
Rustic no-knead blueberry bread
This is a crusty, no-knead, sweet-savory bread that pairs blueberries with spices and herbs inspired by West Asian cooking. Fennel, anise, sesame, and mahlab powder are reminiscent of the دُقَّة كَعْك ("duqqa ka'k"; cake powder) used in pastries, while za'tar and caraway skew more savory.
The long rise yields a well-fermented dough with a robust flavor that stands up well against the sweetness and pungency of the fennel and aniseed. The result is a jammy, complex, aromatic boule.
This bread has an open, irregular crumb, great for slicing, toasting, dipping, or spreading. Try it with labna and honey, olive oil and za'tar, or a spreadable cheese. I've also made sandwiches with thick slices of this bread and fried, glazed tofu drizzled with tarator and topped with Iraqi mango pickles, to excellent effect.
Recipe under the cut!
Patreon | Paypal | Venmo
Makes one medium-sized boule.
Ingredients:
3 cups (360g) bread flour
2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp dry active yeast
2 tsp mahlab powder (optional)
1 tsp fennel seed + 1 tsp aniseed, coarsely ground
About 1 2/3 cup water (room temperature)
1/2 cup firm fresh blueberries
1 Tbsp za’tar (wild thyme), crumbled
Additional fennel seeds, aniseed, caraway, and sesame, to top
Mahlab (محلب) powder is the ground-up pits of Mahleb cherries. It can be purchased at a halal or specialty spice store.
Za'tar (wild thyme) can be found in dried form at a halal grocery store. Note that the spice blend, which includes wild thyme, sumac, sesame seeds, and other spices, will also be labelled "za'tar." If you don't have or can't locate any of the herb itself, use any dried woody herb of your choice (e.g. rosemary, thyme, sage), chopped.
Instructions:
1. Making the dough. Measure flour into a large mixing bowl. Add salt, yeast, seeds, and thyme and stir to combine.
2. Gradually add water until a soft, sticky dough forms. You may need more or less than 1 2/3 cup.
3. Flatten dough in the bowl and top with some of the blueberries. Fold the dough to enclose the blueberries, add more blueberries on top, and fold again. Repeat until all blueberries are incorporated.
4. First rise. Shape dough into a ball and place in the bowl seam-side down. Pat the top of the dough with some olive oil and cover the bowl with a kitchen towel. Allow to rest at room temperature for 16-20 hours.
5. Shaping. Gently remove the dough from the bowl and allow it to deflate. Shape the boule by folding an edge in over the center, rotating the dough slightly, and repeating until you have gone all the way around.
6. Flip the ball over so the seam side is down. Place your hands on either side of the dough and then move them down towards the base of the boule, tucking some of the dough under and towards the seam, to tighten the top of the ball. Rotate the ball slightly and do this again, repeating until you've gone all the way around a couple times.
This is the basic method for shaping a boule, lightly adapted to avoid breaking any blueberries. If any of the blueberries start to pop out of the surface of the dough, just press them back in.
7. Second rise. Place your boule on a piece of parchment paper and cover with a kitchen towel. Allow to rise for 1-2 hours, until noticeably puffy.
8. Baking. Place a Dutch oven in your oven and preheat to 450 °F (230 °C). Remove the Dutch oven and place the boule, along with the parchment paper, inside. Put the lid on the Dutch oven and return it to the oven. Bake for 30 minutes.
9. Remove the Dutch oven's lid and bake bread for another 20 minutes, or until the crust is deeply golden brown.
To bake the bread without a Dutch oven, preheat a baking tray in the center of the oven, while preheating a skillet (rated to at least 450 °F) in the bottom; once preheated, transfer the bread and parchment paper to the tray, and pour a few cups of water in the skillet; bake for 30 minutes. Remove the skillet and bake another 20 minutes until golden brown.
Allow the bread to cool completely before cutting into it to avoid creating a mushy texture.
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bendysinitiation · 25 days
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Political cartoons (literally) demonizing Joey Drew, ca. 1935. Many of these cartoons existed back when the studio was becoming well-known. Surprisingly enough, the addition of the Hays code actually dwindled the number of these cartoons, as well as the protests and death threats following the studio. How the Hays code barely scratched Bendy’s image, even brightened it, still remains a mystery to this day.
(Image ID: Two inked pictures depicting Joey Drew and Bendy:
The first is a cartoon of a much more evil looking Bendy coming out of a silver screen and holding a woman hostage, as well as stabbing a pitch fork through the movie theater seats. Various moviegoers look on in horror. On the top of the screen, a big, grinning demon Joey Drew is drawing Bendy’s horns.
The second cartoon is another demon Joey shielding his face as an angry mod offscreen jabs at him with more pitchforks and torches. Bendy hides behind him with a grimace. The title of the piece says “PUT THAT DEMON BACK IN HELL!” and the barely seeable bottom text says “Joey Drew is no “brilliant mind”.” End ID)
References under the cut
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put a comical novelty shirt on that beast [x]
[id in alt text and under the cut--sketches also under the cut!]
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[image ID: Two drawings of Harry Du Bois from Disco Elysium, wearing two different shirts. The first shirt he's wearing is a white one that features a picture of a green fish with a wide-open mouth, alongside text in a goofy font that reads, in all caps: "Of course I cum fast / I got fish to catch!" Harry is looking down at the shirt with a curious expression. Next to this drawing is text that reads, in all caps: "Fishing Enthusiast Shirt". Underneath that, there is additional text that reads: "+1 Electrochemistry: Thinking about it / -1 Electrochemistry: But not for long". The second shirt he's wearing is a dark grey one with a red arrow pointing up towards his face and text that reads, in all caps: "Is this guy bothering you?" Harry is holding his ledger with one hand, and he is smiling. Next to this drawing is text that reads, in all caps: "Considerate T-Shirt". Underneath that, there is additional text that reads: "+1 Empathy: You are kind of a weirdo / +1 Half Light: Ready to fight even yourself / -1 Suggestion: Aren't you, though?"
Two drawings featuring Harry Du Bois and Kim Kitsuragi from Disco Elysium. The first drawing shows Harry wearing Kim's glasses. Behind him, Kim, sans glasses and in a white shirt, looks from over his shoulder at Harry with an annoyed expression. Text next to this drawing reads, in all caps: "The Lieutenant's Glasses". Underneath that, there is additional text that reads: "+2 Empathy towards Kim Kitsuragi: Through his eyes / +1 Authority: Borrowing some of Kim's / -1 Physical Instrument: Bino attire / -2 Perception: Holy shit, dude". The second drawing shows Kim looking down at his shirt, which is black and features an image of a skeleton lighting a weight. Text on the shirt reads, in a goofy font and all caps: "My body is a machine that turns cigarettes into smoked cigarettes". Kim has a slight smile on his face and he is holding a cigarette of his own. The smoke curls around his head like a halo. Text next to this drawing reads, in all caps: "'Cool' Skeleton T-Shirt". Underneath that, there is additional text that reads: "+1 Camaraderie: Gift from the 41st / +1 Joie De Vivre: Gift from Harry / -1 Kinetic Dressage: Could be cooler". Kim also has a small thought bubble that features an extremely-simplified drawing of Harry holding up a peace sign and winking alongside the words: "he even got the right size…"
A Disco Elysium fancomic featuring Harry Du Bois and Kim Kitsuragi. Panel One: A close-up of Harry's shoes, which are all-yellow and have the crying laughing emoji face adorned on them. Panel Two: A close-up of Harry's shirt, which features the crying laughing emoji. Panel Three: A close-up of Harry's face, which is making the crying laughing face. Additionally, he is wearing a hat which is similarly adorned with the crying laughing emoji. Panel Four: Kim, looking somewhat amused at Harry, says: "What, no matching pants?" Harry, looking alert, says: "Ah! You're right, Kim!" Panel Five: Kim, looking away and still smiling lightly, says: "Yes, without all the proper accoutrements, you might want to consider a less… eccentric outfit." From off-panel, Harry says: "This is more of a pussy-out kinda look!" Kim says: "a what". Panel Six: Kim, with a frantic expression, rushes over to stop Harry from taking off his pants. Harry looks confused and has one leg nearly out of his pants. There is a small speech bubble with a question mark coming from him. Additionally, in the sketch version of the full outfit, each individual clothing article is labelled as an "Amused" version of said article, and each has a stat buff of "+1 Pain Threshold: Laughing through the pain." /end ID]
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uhohitsdorian · 1 year
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Them! Them! Them! They have taken over my brain!!!
[Image: a digital drawing of all nine of the Mechanisms, in a simple style with an emphasis on shapes and vibes, playing their instruments. Nastya stands playing her viola and stares judgmentally off to the side. Tim strums his guitar energetically, with his hair and coat flowing behind him. Jonny crouches with his legs and arms spread out, holding his microphone and glaring forward with a wide smile. The Toy Soldier stands tall and salutes, with its mandolin strapped to its chest. Marius grins and stands with his arms spread out as he holds his violin and bow. Brian stands and plays his accordion, with his face mostly hidden behind the instrument. Raphaella stands and plays her keyboard, with her wings outstretched and her hair flowing behind her, her eyes closed in a serene expression and her head turned to the side. Ivy sits cross-legged crouched over her flute, which she is playing. Ashes stands with a chill and unbothered expression as they play their bass. End ID.]
ID by @fivesevenseveneight (with minor alterations)! Thank you very much for the addition. Accessibility should always come first! I’ve left the original silly ID under the cut for posterity and for those who found it funny.
[Silly ID: a digital drawing of all nine of the Mechanisms, in a simple style with an emphasis on shapes and vibes, playing their instruments. Nastya looks like a judgemental capital A. Tim is going hardcore on a wonkily drawn guitar. Jonny looks like a raccoon about to cannonball into a dumpster to feast. The Toy Soldier looks like a pencil that stood up and put clothes on, saluting. Marius has his arms outstretched charismatically. Brian is a good boy. Raphaella is probably the most abstracted, which makes sense because she’s also the most science. Ivy is curled up like a little flute-playing egg. Ashes is just chilling and playing the bass. End ID.]
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things i am normal about:
not these three
ID (copied from alt): The first image is a drawing of Thomas Hamilton, James McGraw, and Miranda Hamilton in which Thomas (left) kisses James (middle) while Miranda rests her face on James' shoulder as she is stabbed by a silver sword. Miranda grips the sword where it enters her chest while James holds it by the base of the blade, both of their hands bleeding. Miranda's other hand, which has her wedding ring, reaches for Thomas' hand, which rests on James' chest and has a signet ring on his pinky. Thomas' other hand cups James' face. James is the only one with his eyes open, looking conflicted. He is wearing a blue naval uniform and is clean-shaven with a long ponytail. Thomas is clean shaven and wearing a fine green coat. Miranda's hair is in voluminous ringlets and she is wearing a yellow gossamer dress. She is wearing simple makeup and fine earrings and matching necklace. The background is light grey.
The second image is a matching drawing of the same trio ten years later; Thomas Hamilton, James Flint, and Miranda Barlow. In addition to the blood from the sword wounds, Miranda has entry and exit wounds on her head, making blood run down and cover the right side of her neck and shoulder. Flint has a similar looking wound on his head that makes blood run down past his ear into his collar, and a bloody nose. Flint has a shaved head and a goatee beard, and has a gold stud earring. He is wearing a black leather coat and dark shirt, and two silver rings on his ring and pinkie fingers. Miranda is wearing a subtly floral patterned grey dress, and her grey-streaked hair is straight and tied in a bun except for two curls at her cheekbones. She has no makeup on and wears simple earrings. Thomas has greying hair and a scruffy full beard. His cheekbones are further sunken and he has some sunburn on his face and the back of his neck. He is wearing a loose, dirty grey shirt and no rings. The sword is gold. The background is dark grey, and more of the trio is in shadow.
the image it's based on under the cut for anyone unfamiliar
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(Audra McDonald, Anne Hathaway, and Raúl Esparza as Olivia, Viola, and Orsino in Shakespeare in the Park's Twelfth Night)
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kayuripax · 3 months
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Valve news and the AI
So. I assume people saw some posts going around on how valve has new AI rules, and things getting axed. And because we live in a society, I went down the rabbit hole to learn my information for myself. Here's what I found, under a cut to keep it easier. To start off, I am not a proponent of AI. I just don't like misinformation. So. Onwards.
VALVE AND THE AI
First off, no, AI will not take things over. Let me show you, supplemented by the official valve news post from here. (because if hbomberguy taught us anything it is to cite your sources)
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[Image id: a screenshot from the official valve blog. It says the following:
First, we are updating the Content Survey that developers fill out when submitting to Steam. The survey now includes a new AI disclosure section, where you'll need to describe how you are using AI in the development and execution of your game. It separates AI usage in games into two broad categories:
Pre-Generated: Any kind of content (art/code/sound/etc) created with the help of AI tools during development. Under the Steam Distribution Agreement, you promise Valve that your game will not include illegal or infringing content, and that your game will be consistent with your marketing materials. In our pre-release review, we will evaluate the output of AI generated content in your game the same way we evaluate all non-AI content - including a check that your game meets those promises.
Live-Generated: Any kind of content created with the help of AI tools while the game is running. In addition to following the same rules as Pre-Generated AI content, this comes with an additional requirement: in the Content Survey, you'll need to tell us what kind of guardrails you're putting on your AI to ensure it's not generating illegal content. End image ID]
So. Let us break that down a bit, shall we? Valve has been workshopping these new AI rules since last June, and had adopted a wait and see approach beforehand. This had cost them a bit of revenue, which is not ideal if you are a company. Now they have settled on a set of rules. Rules that are relatively easy to understand. - Rule one: Game devs have to disclose when their game has AI - Rule two: If your game uses AI, you have to say what kind it uses. Did you generate the assets ahead of time, and they stay like that? Or are they actively generated as the consumer plays? - Rule three: You need to tell Valve the guardrails you have to make sure your live-generating AI doesn't do things that are going against the law. - Rule four: If you use pre-generated assets, then your assets cannot violate copyright. Valve will check to make sure that you aren't actually lying.
That doesn't sound too bad now, does it? This is a way Valve can keep going. Because they will need to. And ignoring AI is, as much as we all hate it, not going to work. They need to face it. And they did. So. Onto part two, shall we?
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[Image ID: a screenshot from the official Valve blog. It says the following: Valve will use this disclosure in our review of your game prior to release. We will also include much of your disclosure on the Steam store page for your game, so customers can also understand how the game uses AI. End image ID]
Let's break that down. - Valve will show you if games use AI. Because they want you to know that. Because that is transparency.
Part three.
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[Image ID: A screenshot from the official Valve blog. It says the following:
Second, we're releasing a new system on Steam that allows players to report illegal content inside games that contain Live-Generated AI content. Using the in-game overlay, players can easily submit a report when they encounter content that they believe should have been caught by appropriate guardrails on AI generation.
Today's changes are the result of us improving our understanding of the landscape and risks in this space, as well as talking to game developers using AI, and those building AI tools. This will allow us to be much more open to releasing games using AI technology on Steam. The only exception to this will be Adult Only Sexual Content that is created with Live-Generated AI - we are unable to release that type of content right now. End Image ID]
Now onto the chunks.
Valve is releasing a new system that makes it easier to report questionable AI content. Specifically live-generated AI content. You can easily access it by steam overlay, and it will be an easier way to report than it has been so far.
Valve is prohibiting NSFW content with live-generating AI. Meaning there won't be AI generated porn, and AI companions for NSWF content are not allowed.
That doesn't sound bad, does it? They made some rules so they can get revenue so they can keep their service going, while also making it obvious for people when AI is used. Alright? Alright. Now calm down. Get yourself a drink.
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Team Fortress Source 2
My used source here is this.
There was in fact a DCMA takedown notice. But it is not the only thing that led to the takedown. To sum things up: There were issues with the engine, and large parts of the code became unusable. The dev team decided that the notice was merely the final nail in the coffin, and decided to take it down. So that is that. I don't know more on this, so I will not say more, because I don't want to spread misinformation and speculation. I want to keep some credibility, please and thanks.
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Portal Demake axed
Sources used are from here, here and here.
Portal 64 got axed. Why? Because it has to do with Nintendo. The remake uses a Nintendo library. And one that got extensively pirated at that. And we all know how trigger-happy Nintendo is with it's intellectual property. And Nintendo is not exactly happy with Valve and Steam, and sent them a letter in 2023.
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[Image ID: a screenshot from a PC-Gamer article. It says the following: It's possible that Valve's preemptive strike against Portal 64 was prompted at least in part by an encounter with Nintendo in 2023 over the planned release of the Dolphin emulator for the Wii and Gamecube consoles on Steam. Nintendo sent a letter to Valve ahead of that launch that attorney Kellen Voyer of Voyer Law said was a "warning shot" against releasing it. End Image ID.]
So. Yeah. Nintendo doesn't like people doing things with their IP. Valve is most likely avoiding potential lawsuits, both for themselves and Lambert, the dev behind Portal 64. Nintendo is an enemy one doesn't want to have. Valve is walking the "better safe than sorry" path here.
---
There we go. This is my "let's try and clear up some misinformation" post. I am now going to play a game, because this took the better part of an hour. I cited my sources. Auf Wiedersehen.
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basshole-astard · 7 months
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[AMERICAN POLITICS]
i know everyone is worried about KOSA being a censorship bill, and that's fair. but do you know what really, REALLY concerns me about this bill? the fact they want to install age verification systems at the device/operating system level
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(transcript with highlights below cut)
this will almost definitely track your data - note how it doesn't say how much, just that it's going to have to collect some, and that's worrying. to me. best case scenario we need to give our devices our government ID. worst case scenario it's tracking app usage and browser history and who knows what else. they don't say! how convenient.
but, based on Sec. 6(d)(5) "consider indicia or inferences of age of users, in addition to any self-declared information about the age of individuals." and Sec. 10(a)(1)(D) "using indicia or inferences of age of users for assessing use of the covered platform by minors", nevermind Sec. 9(b)(4)'s own admission that some data will be collected, that's.... that's data tracking.
and i know websites already do this, but i feel like a government mandated software for age verification that will track this data is a step too far.....
read the text of the bill here, if you want. genuinely the amount of legaleze is - as far as i can tell - only going to PROBABLY cause censorship, not GUARANTEE it.
but you know what KOSA does guarantee? stated plainly and clearly in their intents of what this bill will do? data tracking.
so if you're contacting your senators about opposing this bill, please consider not only voicing your concerns about censorship, but also about the privacy violations. thank you.
contact your senators here
highlighted text in image bolded
SEC. 9. Age verification study and report.
(a) Study.—The Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, and the Secretary of Commerce, shall conduct a study evaluating the most technologically feasible methods and options for developing systems to verify age at the device or operating system level.
(b) Contents.—Such study shall consider —
(1) the benefits of creating a device or operating system level age verification system;
(2) what information may need to be collected to create this type of age verification system;
(3) the accuracy of such systems and their impact or steps to improve accessibility, including for individuals with disabilities;
(4) how such a system or systems could verify age while mitigating risks to user privacy and data security and safeguarding minors' personal data, emphasizing minimizing the amount of data collected and processed by covered platforms and age verification providers for such a system; and
(5) the technical feasibility, including the need for potential hardware and software changes, including for devices currently in commerce and owned by consumers.
(c) Report.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the agencies described in subsection (a) shall submit a report containing the results of the study conducted under such subsection to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives.
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ammonitetheartist · 3 months
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Welcome to paradise
(Also yeh I used the Eldritch Uzi design by @electrozeistyking bc. cool 👉👈)
EhehrheEHEHEHHEHEHE-
Judging by when I ended up finishing this, ig here’s your (early/on time/late depending on your timezone) Christmas gift (or general gift if you don’t celebrate it) from me: PAIN
I’ve recently been noodling with the idea of Cyn’s original consciousness being in a little mindspace of some kind, and then I started noodling with the concept I saw brought up by this comic: of the Solver taking Uzi as a host like her, aaand this was born!
Also I was originally gonna draw the panels individually, but since tumblr doesn’t have a way to exceed 10 images on mobile (as far as I know), I had to get creative
Edit: ghgghhhhGHHG WHY IS TUMBLR NOT LETTING ME LINK THE COMIC HHHHGGGGGRRGG- it’s the “She’s Gone” comic by the person I tagged near the top; you can find it in their top posts
Putting the image ID under the cut bc holy fricj-
[Image ID: A comic featuring catified designs of Uzi and Cyn from Murder Drones. The first drawing shows the first four panels; a front view of Uzi in her Solver mode over a snowy night sky, wings outstretched and a yellow X over her visor, then the same drawing with a perspective blur, then a black background with a yellow flash, like a TV turning off, and finally a completely black background.
The fifth panel shows a blurry drawing of Cyn looking down to the viewer, a black blur effect around the edges. The third drawing shows the sixth and seventh panels, starting with Cyn standing over Uzi, who is lying down, followed by Uzi jerking back in surprise upon noticing Cyn.
Panels 5-14 feature a dark, mottled yellow-green background with faint, pale yellow polygons of varying sizes to signify the mindspace. In addition, both Cyn and Uzi’s designs in this mindspace become solid color, with colored lineart. Cyn’s text is yellow and Uzi’s is purple.
The 8th panel shows Uzi on the right side of the drawing with a confused expression, uttering ‘Wh-‘. The 9th panel shows her head whip around in surprise. The 10th panel shows the background giving way to a drawing of Solver Uzi in the center, with her usual colors (very darkened), a glitch effect, and a yellow AbsoluteSolver symbol over her visor.
The 11th panel shows mindspace Uzi with a shocked, lost expression as she mutters ‘Wha…’ in a small voice. In the 12th panel, she turns to the left side of the screen, adding ‘Wh- where…’
The 13th panel shows Cyn sitting on the left side of the screen, a blank expression on her face. In the 14th and final panel, she wears an empty smile, and a dark tear slips from under her visor as she simply says, ‘Welcome to paradise.’ End ID]
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anonymouspuzzler · 7 months
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awright who let puzz play psychonauts again and start Thinking
It Never Ends! I am once again thinking about Psychonauts and specifically thinking about Loboto. Even More Specifically, I replayed the first game Yet Again recently and on hitting the scene where Loboto removes Dogen’s brain, had a moment of “huh, he’s like, way more measured and composed than I remembered,” and God Help Me that sent me on a horrible unending spiral of Revisiting and Thinking About and Theorizing On Things. And Now You Must All Read My Discoveries As Well. (placed under readmore because 1) this is gonna get long and 2) my god there will be major spoilers for Every Psychonauts Game.)
Welcome To The Thunderdome. Let’s Begin. In particular I am going to present to and discuss with you Three Distinct Things I Am Thinking About Loboto Based On In-Game Evidence That I Will Extrapolate, Present, and Argue To You All:
Cal’s childhood lobotomy did not, in fact, remove his psychic powers, only cut off his ability to consciously access and utilize them. He is still unconsciously using psychic abilities at the point that we see him in the games.
One of the most prominent impacts of the lobotomy on Cal appears to be his inability to recognize when he is doing harm, and to a certain related degree, how to interpret other peoples’ responses to him. When Raz helps recover his “moral compass”, Loboto actually becomes significantly more unstable as he struggles to process this, having likely gone most of his life without these capabilities.
Both of the above are causing some variant of Mental Projection to occur in Loboto’s mind, creating multiple conflicting archetypes/personas similar to what’s happening in Cassie’s mind.
So let’s go through each of these one by one! In excruciating detail!!
1) Cal’s childhood lobotomy did not, in fact, remove his psychic powers, only cut off his ability to consciously access and utilize them. He is still unconsciously using psychic abilities at the point that we see him in the games.
So for this one, we’re going to go through my evidence from “most textual” to “a little more speculative” in roughly that order. Obviously, none of this is explicit, but I’m doing my damndest to use things that can be fairly reasonably cited from Actual In Game rather than too deep in fanon/speculation.
The most textual example of Loboto having lingering psychic abilities despite his lobotomy is, in fact, his mental world in Psychonauts 2! This is something that’s a little more obvious on a rewatch/replay.
When you’re going through the game/level the first time, Sasha especially spends a lot of time discussing how Loboto’s mind must have been booby-trapped and messed with by his employer, because otherwise Loboto wouldn’t be able to resist the construct and otherwise give the agents the degree of run-around he’s putting them through. On a first playthrough, that makes perfect sense, especially when this plus additional evidence leads the agents to conclude Loboto’s employer was a mole within the Psychonauts itself. Obviously, a psychic from the agency messed with Loboto’s head and left all these psychic booby-traps for their coworkers!
But once you reach the end of the game and go back and look at this again, you realize, hey, wait. Loboto’s boss wasn’t a psychic at all! Quite explicitly!
Now I’m going to take a moment to argue against my own argument here, because there is evidence that Gristol would have been able to psychically fuck with Loboto despite not having psychic abilities himself.
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[Image ID: A screenshot from a cutscene in Psychonauts 2, showing the receptionist at the Motherlobe levitating a ThinkerPrint Reader (a small brain-shaped disc with a blue glowing eye symbol in the middle). End ID.]
We see in-game that these little brain-disc-things - which Gristol would have had access to via Truman, since Truman has one on his person - are able to provide some limited degree of psychic power even to people who don’t otherwise have those abilities. Namely, the front desk receptionist is able to telekinetically lift one and scan Raz with it when he arrives, despite dialogue later on suggesting she isn’t a psychic herself. It’s entirely possible Gristol used that to fuck with Loboto’s head and place all those psychic booby traps.
But ho ho!! Now I’m going to counter-argue this counter-argument, to get you all back on board with my original argument!! Because despite this possibility, it’s also pretty textual that Gristol is a fuck-up who’s not very good at planning. The entirety of Psychonauts 2 is a display of him not really having any back-up plans for any possible hiccups in his original plan (as soon as Lili reveals a boyfriend he didn’t know about, his response is Fake A Coma), and of said plan being undone mostly by his own sloppy work (shipping his own body back to the base in a poorly-taped box with a key to his former residence in his pockets). The thought of this same man having the capability and foresight to set up numerous highly effetive psychic booby-traps in the brain of his hired help, just in case that hired help got captured and psychically interrogated… it doesn’t feel likely.
(Now that I write it all out, in a lot of ways it feels like Gristol just… forgot about-slash-disregarded Loboto after he did the dirty work of kidnapping Truman and swapping the brains. Like, he only appears once in Gristol’s Big Special Mind-Ride of his Brilliant Plan, at the very end, in a barely-held-together-backroom type of area, and Gristol never so much as brings him up by name. Heck, in retrospect, I wouldn’t be surprised if Gristol deciding to Play Coma was equally as prompted by Guy Who Knows Everything, Who He Completely Disregarded and Left For Dead, falling out of a luggage rack unexpectedly right in front of him and Five Guys He's Trying To Fool Into Thinking He's Normal All The Time Truman. This is all totally off the topic at hand, though.)
Anyway! So Gristol being able to do anything significant and sophisticated vis-a-vis “psychic traps in Loboto’s mindscape” is wildly unlikely. While there’s still other possible explanations - Gristol maybe having other psychics in his employ in the Delugianaries or secret police, for example - that’s purely speculative and not supported by the text in any kind of reasonably-explicit way, which is what I’m trying to focus on for the purposes of this argument. Hey, you know what is explicit in the text, though? Loboto once having psychic powers, to a degree that he was using telekinesis Very Capably as a Literal Infant. That, combined with all the above evidence (plus other circumstantial stuff we’ll get into in a second), means the most likely answer to “how is Loboto resisting the agents and the mental construct?” is “his psychic powers are still There, and acting subconsciously to protect Loboto in this situation, even though he’s no longer able to access and use those powers by conscious effort”.
Now let’s get to evidence of a “still textual, but not as compelling” flavor. For this, we’re going to go back to the original Psychonauts, and also touch on Rhombus of Ruin a bit.
As some of y’all probably remember from messing around in the original game, because there’s still some of that point-and-click inventory flavor, you can try to use the psycho-portal on characters that don’t have mental worlds, and you’ll get some flavor text explaining in some form or another why you can’t do that. This includes Crispin (you get a note from Loboto saying he’s protected “his patient” from psychic procedures, Haha Hey Man Uhhh How Did Y), Sheegor, and most pressingly for this line of argument, Loboto himself, who claims his shower cap is protecting his mind from being entered.
This Is All Well and Good until Literally The Next Day In-Universe when his mind is able to be entered. Twice, in fact. Please recall that the start of Psychonauts 2 is, at a stretch, maybe a few hours after Rhombus of Ruin. (“Haha well Puzz clearly they just retconned it so they could do a Loboto mental world–” no. That’s not Fun and it’s not Text. This overthinking-ass essay is about Engaging With The Text As It Stands.)
So what’s different about the first time Raz (et all) attempts to enter Loboto’s mind (in the original game) and the second-slash-third time (during and after Rhombus of Ruin)? Nothing that would particularly have an impact, except for one big thing: in the latter cases, Loboto is either “immediately in the presence of” or “has just barely left the immediate presence of” Like A Lot Of Psilirium. You Know. The Rock That Dampens Psychic Powers. Which leads me to believe Loboto’s psychic powers are still active, just in an unconscious way (protecting him from psychic invasion without him even realizing it) instead of in a way he has to consciously act on.
Now, why am I categorizing this as less compelling evidence than Loboto resisting the mental construct later on? Because unlike that case, there actually is a reasonable, textual alternative to the answer of “yeah Loboto’s still unconsciously psychic”. The answer is named Coach Morceau Oleander.
Unlike Gristol, Oleander has a lot going for him on the level of “could fuck with Loboto’s mind a bit to put up some psychic defenses”. For one, Oleander is a psychic, and despite everything, a highly trained and very powerful one. (Like, much as he’s kind of a goofy fuck-up, Oleander’s also implied to have been an agent for at least as long as Sasha and Milla, and he’s able to hold his own in a fight against both of them at once - it literally takes Ford flying in and de-braining him to win that confrontation.) Two, we already have textual evidence of Oleander messing with people’s brains to his own ends, in the form of both Linda (though in some ways that could loop back around to supporting Loboto Is Still Psychic, since he seems to have had some degree of a hand in that) and more prominently, poor ol’ Boyd. If he was able to do that much involuntarily with Boyd, it doesn’t seem out of the question for him to hop in and put up some psychic defenses for more voluntary subjects like Crispin and Loboto. It would also make sense for those defenses to either wear down or wear off once Loboto was in the presence of Psilirium, thus continuing to explain why Loboto’s protected in the first game but not in any of the games following.
So - taken on its own, not particularly decisive evidence. In combination with the much-stronger “resisting the mental construct” example, though, I’d say it presents a pretty strong case.
Now comes my most tenuous and speculative example. This is about as much as a stretch I’m going to let myself go with any of these - a case of “well you can extrapolate this from the text provided, I guess, even if it never says it explicitly to any kind of degree”.
Ladies, gentlemen, and those rightfully opting out. It is time to talk about Loboto’s Fucking Prosthetic.
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[Image ID: A full rotation of Loboto’s “Monstroboto” character model, which shows him shirtless with the full prosthetic right arm visible. It is attached to his torso with several straps and has a single visible hinge at the elbow.]
Look at this thing. This is a fucking mannequin arm with a pepper grinder on it. How Is This Thing Able To Operate With Any Kind of Sophistication Without Telekinesis. Like, the man is gesticulating and grabbing objects and tapping his little knife fingers, how in the Hell.
There’s a lot of reasons this is tenuous evidence at best. For one, we only get this super clear view of the entire prosthetic construction inside Loboto’s mind, which means it’s extremely possible it’s abstracted, metaphorical, or an abstracted metaphor in one form or another. (I don’t interpret Loboto’s exposed brain as textual in the “real world” for this reason - we only ever see it exposed in his mental worlds, and in both cases in a scenario where him having an exposed brain under the cap serves some kind of symbolic/metaphorical purpose - but for several reasons, the prosthetic feels more grounded in reality despite this. Anyway, that’s all a tangent regardless.) There could also be hidden mechanics that allow it to move the way it does, or it could just be an abstraction of the art style (though again, I’m trying not to let out-of-story things like that be answers to these questions). But it’s really hard to imagine the Hinged Peppermill With Claws having the range of movement it does without Loboto unconsciously moving it with telekinesis.
For that matter, I feel similarly about his eye lenses - we see them moving around independently, zooming in and out without him touching them, and so on, and like… how? How?? Maybe it’s just that I’m not biomechanically minded-slash-informed, but “yeah he’s just moving them psychically without realizing” does feel like a more viable answer than any alternatives, if not one with a ton of super obvious and textual evidence behind it. Once again, though, in combination with other evidence, it does have more weight behind it.
In summary: Loboto’s able to resist psychic interference, actively fight back against trained Psychonauts in his own mind, and move his various prosthetics and augments in highly refined ways. All these things, especially taken all together, make the most sense if you assume his psychic powers are still acting subconsciously, and he’s just not able to consciously access and use them in the ways he did pre-lobotomy.
2) One of the most prominent impacts of the lobotomy on Cal appears to be his inability to recognize when he is doing harm, and to a certain related degree, how to interpret other peoples’ responses to him. When Raz helps recover his “moral compass”, Loboto actually becomes significantly more unstable as he struggles to process this, having likely gone most of his life without these capabilities.
This is going to be a little less “I cite direct evidence in support of my argument” and more “I point out specific scenes and instances of behavior, how I’m interpreting them, and why I’m interpreting that way”. Hopefully you will stick with me here.
So, as I stated waaaay back at the start of this, what set me off on this whole journey was going back through some of the original Psychonauts cutscenes, seeing Loboto in action, and going, “Woah, hey, he’s like way more measured than I remembered him being”. So let’s go into more detail on that and unpack it a bit!!
There’s a consistent and distinct pattern of behavior Loboto exhibits in his scenes in the first game: screeching, in-your-face Mad Scientist rambling, and then suddenly, these dips into like… oddly quiet, composed, weirdly Professional (if decidedly eccentric) behavior. The cutscenes with Dogen are a really good example - he has his big INSANITY OF A MANATEE THIS WILL ONLY HURT TILL YOUR BRAIN COMES FLYING OUT speech, but in-between and especially after that, he kind of quiets down and starts acting like an Actual Slightly Eccentric Dentist. (In fact, here’s the full transcript of the scene that sent me down this whole rabbit-hole, for context:
Dr. Loboto: Oh, good boy! There's that pesky brain. Here's a tissue. Now don't you feel better, my dear lad? Dogen: [Now brainless] TV..? Dr. Loboto: Of course! Right here. [Loboto picks up Dogen's brain off the floor.] And THIS bad tooth, we'll just drop it in the ol' garbage chute. Now don't chew solid foods for the next six hours!
It really knocked me off balance seeing it, so I made a point of going and watching the full Lili’s bracelet clairvoyance cutscene in full, to see if he behaved similarly there. And he didn’t! He’s full Mad Scientist Haha Crazy there, the entire time!! I had to think on it for a while, and I realized there was one major difference - Lili continues to be defiant and difficult in conversation the entire time, while Dogen responds pretty calmly and doesn’t start freaking out until it’s clear His Brain Will Be Removed, which is also when Loboto starts going more Mad Scientist again. (Again, below’s the full transcript of the Lili scene for context.)
Dr. Loboto: Well, I've reviewed your chart, little girl. The bad news is, we're going to have to remove your brain... strap it into an armored battle tank, and have it shoot down innocent civilians with its concentrated psychic death beam! Lili: I'm gonna kill you so much. Dr. Loboto: The good news is that your insurance is going to cover the whole thing. So! ... Hey, is it getting warm in here? Lili: No, I'm trying to set you on fire through this stupid hat! Dr. Loboto: What a delightfully mean little brain you have! Just what we want! Here, do me a favor. Tell me if this smells like... YOUR DOOM! Heh heh! Lili: I-I can't smell anything. Dr. Loboto: Curses! [Lili laughs at him] You're a stubborn little ball of phlegm, ain't ya? Well, that head cold won't protect you forever, little girl, and when it's gone you'll be sneezing a different tune. A tune in the key of... brains! HAAA HA HA!
His last big cutscene with Sheegor really hammers everything home. He’s full Mad Scientist again, he’s screaming and experimenting and Actively Threatening and Tormenting Her the entire time. Then Sheegor leaves and just, measured and nonchalant as anything: “When you're a dentist, you have to learn to have a sense of humor, you know. It helps to calm the patient down.” (It’s also worth noting a lot of the torment, at least to me, comes off as kinda “dipshit older sibling who commits to the bit of teasing Way Way Past where it’s all in good fun for the younger sibling”. Like he just keeps Going and Playfully Backing Off and then Actually Still Going. It’s so awful it loops around to being funny again. I'm so so sorry Sheegor I love you and you don't deserve this but I am laughing)
I think Loboto really, unironically, genuinely thinks this is what he’s doing in all these situations. He’s a dentist, he’s got all these difficult patients around, so he’s going to joke with them! A bit of friendly teasing and playing up his eccentric behavior to get them to calm down for the procedure! At the point where all this is happening, I think he’s genuinely incapable of comprehending-slash-accepting that he’s actually doing harm and that they’re actually, rightfully scared of him. Not in a like “oh uwu he didn’t know he did anything bad he’s just a nice guyyyy” way, but in a “his brain is literally, textually, physically damaged in such a way that he cannot comprehend this” way. As far as he can tell, he’s doing some freelance dentistry (plus or minus a few things, you know how it is when you’re doing work-for-hire type stuff, you never know what the client’s gonna ask you for) and sometimes he’s gotta joke around when he gets a patient that’s nervous or difficult. All in good fun!
Then, of course, we get Rhombus of Ruin and the mental compass. If you’ve played or watched that game, you know all this already. Raz recovers the mental compass from the vault and Loboto’s demeanor completely shifts again. He recognizes aloud, for the first time since we’ve been introduced to him, that he has done Horrible Things. (We will see him continuing to do this in his level in Psychonauts 2, but we’ll get to that.) He seems, very genuinely, saddened and horrified with himself as he says all this. Raz has very literally reintroduced Physical-Slash-Psychic Capacity To Recognize Harm to Loboto’s brain. Given what we learn about Loboto’s past here, it is very much possible that this is the first time he has had this capability since he was a very young child.
Another thing that happens is, in rapid succession, Loboto chooses to Immediately Make Reconciliatory Actions (releasing the Psychonauts, telling the fish henchmen to leave), and then also Blow The Building Up Right Now. For No Clear Reason. For Zero Benefit, In Fact, The Opposite Of Benefit, He Also Has to Frantically Escape This Now. It’s completely illogical, erratic behavior that’s in conflict with itself. And that pattern… kind of stays consistent from that point out, actually! Almost his entire appearance in 2 is him very literally arguing with himself, acting in erratic and conflicting ways - pretty much going to the Psychonauts for protection and redemption yet also actively giving them the run-around and preventing them from finding his boss; alternately trying to connect with or get pity from the agents, then being aggressive or insulting towards them, then being kind of playfully, teasingly antagonistic at worst. While Raz reintroducing his moral compass is probably objectively a good thing for Loboto in the long run, in the short-term having that level of major, major change in his damaged brain seems to have significantly destabilized his behavior and sense of identity (we’ll get into that in just a moment) in ways that make him much less predictable and more erratic compared to how he was pre-RoR.
In summary: Loboto at the time of the original Psychonauts is eccentric and dangerous, but he’s also consistent and stable in his behavior and identity, acting consistently as a freelance dentist who plays up his eccentricity, teasing or otherwise joking around in an effort to “calm down” his “patients”. It’s likely he’s physically unable to comprehend that he’s doing harm and scaring people, due to the brain damage from his childhood lobotomy. Raz reintroducing his moral compass in Rhombus of Ruin fixes this, but makes Loboto much more unstable and unpredictable as he grapples both with the harm he’s done over the years, and with trying to suddenly live with a brain function he hasn’t had for most of his life.
3) Both of the above are causing some variant of Mental Projection to occur in Loboto’s mind, creating multiple conflicting archetypes/personas similar to what’s happening in Cassie’s mind.
In connection with the above, It’s Time To Talk About the Multiple Lobotos.
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[Image ID: A screenshot from Psychonauts 2, showing two Lobotos in his mental world - one in bright light sitting in a dentist chair on the right side, the other standing in the shadows on the left. End ID.]
Every time we see Loboto’s mental world, there are multiple distinct, individual, and simultaneous versions of Loboto Himself in operation. Not different and distinctly individual personalities, like Fred and Napoleon. Not separated alter-egos representing a part of oneself, like Edgar and El Odio, or Bob and Turnip-Bob. Not even fragmented personalities that appear one at a time, like the different versions of Ford. There are multiple versions of Loboto that are Just A Loboto - literally the most different they get is “one time one of them pretended to be a whaler” - operating at the same time as each other, in the same scenes as each other, interacting with each other, sometimes in direct opposition to each other. There is only one other place in the entire series where we see this happening.
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[Image ID: A screenshot from Psychonauts 2, showing the “librarian” Archetype of Cassie O’Pia tearing up a book with Raz on the left side and her three other Archetypes on the right. End ID.]
THAT’S RIGHT BABY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS I FINALLY RETROACTIVELY FOUND AN EXPLANATION FOR THE CALLY O’PIA AU anyway where was I. Yeah.
The way the different versions of Cal operate in his mind and interact with each other is more similar to Cassie’s Archetypes than anything else we see in anyone else’s minds. The only major differences are “Loboto’s Archetypes aren’t flat paper illustrations” (and I think it’s remarkably easy, even reasonable, to assume that’s a Cassie-specific stylization that Raz only retains because Cassie directly teaches him and he’s thus using her Archetypes as a reference point - Cassie’s a writer; what reason would everyone else in the world have to render their Archetypes as if they were illustrations in a book?) and “Loboto doesn’t refer to or treat the other versions of himself as Archetypes” (of course he doesn’t, I don’t see any reason or scenario where he could have reasonably learned about Archetypes, in either a psychological or psychic sense - he literally does not have the knowledge or the language to do this). Honestly, interpreting the different Lobotos as different Archetypes explains a lot about how they act, what they’re doing in Loboto’s mind and why they’re in the parts of the story they are. I am going to talk about each individual version of Loboto and what I think they’re doing Archetype-wise based on the text now, because none of you can stop me.
Psychonauts 2 Loboto #1, AKA Patient Loboto: This guy, and Psychonauts 2 Loboto #2, tie in the most to the above discussion on Loboto becoming more outwardly unstable after recovering his mental compass, and so I’m going to refer back to and expand on that with the both of them. This Loboto is explicitly the one we see in the patient chair during those cutscenes in his level, the one we see speaking to Raz directly in the poster hall section, and I would argue he’s likely the version we see at the very start of the level in the office construct (or at the very least, he's the one "running" Loboto at that point, in the same way the Librarian is "running" Cassie when we first meet her). He’s the version of Loboto we see most blatantly grappling with the return of his mental compass - he regrets the things he’s done in the past, he’s seems to be vying to connect with the agents on some level, he’s genuinely upset about being tricked and about being unable to tell Raz what’s up with his boss. This puts him in direct conflict with…
Psychonauts 2 Loboto #2, AKA Doctor Loboto: This guy is also the result of Loboto’s Newfound Ability To Recognize Morals, but in the opposite direction. He’s the one who’s fully embracing the identity he’s built as an amoral mad-scientist-for-hire, figuring he’s better off just continuing the path he’s already on and disregarding the new knowledge that It’s Wrong, rather than go through all the trouble and misery and Active Risk To Self of trying to Be Redeemed. Basically, he’s the one looking at OG Psychonauts version of Loboto and going What If We Just Went Back To That Actually. Fuck Character Development. He is, obviously, the one we see as the dentist in the cutscenes in Loboto’s level, as well as pretty textually the one who grabs Raz from behind the painting in Lili’s section.
Monstroboto: Back to RoR now! This one’s pretty textual as well - this the uncontrolled, untethered, don’t-know-or-care-if-it-hurts-someone version of Loboto. (As I type this, I realize it’s worth noting, this version of Loboto is very obviously “playing” as he attacks, in the same way I observed Psychonauts 1 Loboto having a playful tone to his antagonism, as if he’s not recognizing that he’s actively hurting and terrifying people while doing so. All his attacks are either that, or actively retaliatory. I'm Simply Saying I Can Read Some Subtext.) Between that and the exposed brain, it’s pretty obvious this is representing the post-lobotomy Loboto (how he sees himself? How he thinks others see him? All that’s speculation, mine friends…) - wreaking havoc on Loboto’s ability to engage with other parts of himself and develop a fully fledged mindscape.
First Mate Loboto: This one’s a little more speculative and could mean a lot of things, but bear with me. As above, this could well be the part of Loboto that wants to distance himself from what he became after the lobotomy - whether that means ignoring it entirely and trying to go back to how things were “before”, or more likely, based on his dialogue, trying to move on and grow past it; “sail for new waters”, in his own words. It’s also possible he’s something of Loboto’s idealized self - he’s just as eccentric and dramatic as the real deal, but at least more theoretically heroic and adventurous - and/or, tying into a lot of the themes of the RoR version of Loboto’s mind, kind of a childish “what I want to be when I grow up” version of himself. (We see lots of nautical themes in Loboto’s childhood, after all, with the sea life toys and the little sailor boy outfit and all; while it’s certainly speculative, it’s not a huge leap to think little Loboto might have wanted to grow up to be like, a sailor or something of that ilk.)
Young Loboto: This one’s pretty obvious; he’s very literally the Inner Child. (You Know. Like Psychology.) Just like Li’l Oly in Oleander’s mind, this is the part of Cal who was Very Hurt when he was Very Young and has never had the means or opportunity to process it - he’s just stuck in that mental vault, buried away, playing out what he’s experienced over and over and over again as a helpless, outside observer. (I think it’s Very telling that Raz releasing the vault and, in essence, establishing a connection between Inner Child Loboto and the other parts of himself is what restores Loboto’s ability to use his moral compass.)
So, in total, we’ve got five distinct Lobotos in play through what we see: Inner Child, First Mate, Monstroboto, Patient and Doctor. And, in a case very similar to what we see of Cassie’s Archetypes, each of these versions of him are a result of a Very Specific Point in his life and a subsequent need to fulfill a Very Specific Purpose for his continued functioning and survival. The Inner Child is, well, Loboto As A Child (and less literally, the version of him that’s kind of holding on to his trauma so the rest of the versions of him don’t necessarily have to reckon with it); Monstroboto is what’s taken over post-lobotomy; First Mate is what he either Wanted or Wants to be and isn’t because of said lobotomy; and Patient and Doctor are the two options he has post-recovering his moral compass, either continuing on the path he’s already on, or abandoning it for the hard road of Trying To Be Better.
And again, much like Cassie, none of those Archetypes on their own are getting the job done on their own. Doctor and Monstroboto are extremely destructive and don’t seem much able to form meaningful relationships because of it, Patient is an erratic coward who’s constantly miserable and collapsing under the weight of What He’s Done, Inner Child is a Child, and First Mate is a cartoon character. It’s very likely that a theoretical healthier, more functional version of Loboto would have to reconcile these different Archetypes the same way we eventually see Cassie do, or at the very least get them on terms where they’re not Actively Opposing Each Other At All Times.
In summary: Loboto has multiple Archetypes active in his mind the same way Cassie does, and much like Cassie, the Archetypes being in conflict with each other plays a major role in his instability, especially post-RoR. Again like Cassie, it’s likely Loboto would have to reconcile his different archetypes - especially the ones in direct conflict, as we see in his mind in Psychonauts 2 - in some form or another to become more mentally stable.
SO IN CONCLUSION, I hope this Rambling Essay and Cited Evidence has convinced you all that:
Loboto is still psychic, but his powers only manifest unconsciously, and he isn’t able to use them by conscious choice as when he was a child. (Whether or not it’s possible for him to eventually re-access those powers consciously is very much a “your guess is as good as mine” situation - Loboto's the only lobotomized psychic we see in the series, and no other in-game sources on the history or results of the practice.)
Regaining his moral compass for the first time since childhood makes Loboto behave significantly more erratically and unpredictably, in no small part because–
Loboto has several mental Archetypes in direct conflict with each other, especially after regaining his moral compass.
What does all this mean? I’m gonna be honest. I don’t know. I just wanted to get all this out of my head. Now it lives in yours instead. Have fun!!
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stripescatart · 11 months
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TLoS x WoF!! been wanting to do this for a while, I made him a SkyWing because I thought it fit his look and colours the best and also his primary element being fire. I already have plans for the other characters as well and will maybe do characters from the original trilogy as that is my primary special interest :)
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[Image ID under the cut]
[Image ID: Spyro from The Legend of Spyro series drawn as a SkyWing from Wings of Fire. He is sitting on the ground with one arm up and a happy open mouthed smile, looking off to the right as if he is talking to someone off-screen. He maintains most of Spyro’s original colours of purple + yellow + red as well as his iconic head spikes and tail spade, but with a warmer and naturalistic overtone to fit with being a SkyWing plus the addition of some dark red scaling on his back and limbs. /.End ID]
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najia-cooks · 1 month
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[ID: First image is a thin crèpe topped with ground 'meat,' herbs, and tomato, and garnished with lemon. Second image is a close-up of the same crèpe with a thick red sauce drizzledover it. End ID
𑐔𑐟𑐵𑑄𑐩𑐬𑐶 / चतांमरि / Chatamari (Newari rice crèpe)
𑐔𑐟𑐵𑑄𑐩𑐬𑐶 / चतांमरि (chatā̃mari), sometimes called "Newari pizza," are rice crèpes made plain or with a savory topping. Chatamari are a popular festival food among the indigenous 𑐣𑐾𑐰𑐵𑑅 / नेवा: (Naivāḥ / Newa) people, most of whom live in the 𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑑅 𑐐𑐵𑑅 / नेपाः गाः (Naipāḥ gāḥ / Nepa Valley) in central Nepal. [1] They are regarded as a near-compulsory addition to the table for holidays including 𑐴𑑂𑐩𑐥𑐸𑐖𑐵 / म्ह पूजा (mha pūjā) and 𑐡𑐶𑐐𑐸 𑐥𑐹𑐖𑐵 / दिगु पूजा (digu pūjā), when they are served as snacks and appetizers.
A chatamari consists of a thin, fried crèpe, fluffy on the inside and crispy around the edges, and an optional juicy, well-spiced topping. Common toppings are vegetable (with black-eyed peas, potato, and/or soy chunks); meat (with minced chicken or buffalo and tomato); a cracked egg; or some combination thereof. Ginger, garlic, red onion, cumin, turmeric, and sometimes red chili powder and coriander add bite and aroma. To cook chatamari, a thin layer of batter is spread on a tawa, and the batter is topped; the whole is then covered with a clay conical lid and left to steam.
This recipe is for a 𑐎𑐷𑐩𑐵 / कीमा (kīmā; minced meat)​ chatamari with potato, but you can try replacing the meat substitute with cooked black-eyed peas, replacing the potato with more meat, or replacing the meat and potato with vegetables of your choice (try green peas, julienned carrots, and green onion)—the basic format of this dish is highly customizable.
The Nepali language is increasingly the language of broadcast, education, and even the home, to the detriment of other languages including the Newa language Nepal Bhasa (𑐣𑐾𑐰𑐵𑑅 𑐨𑐵𑐫𑑂‎ / नेवा: भाय्, nevāḥ bhāy). Scripts historically used to write Nepal Bhasa and Sanskrit have been almost entirely replaced with Devanagari. 𑐥𑑂𑐬𑐔𑐮𑐶𑐟 / प्रचलित (prachalit; lit. "common") was the script used by literate Newa until it began to decline at the turn of the 20th century; the 1960s governmental policy of सांस्कृतिक एकता (Nepali: sā̃skr̥tik ektā; cultural unity) further marginalized it.
Revival efforts have begun, which claim Prachalit (and the ornamental script Ranjana, also used to write Nepal Bhasa and Sanskrit) as parts of Newa identity, and seek to teach them at fairs and in workshops. A process of "ethnicity-building" and identity formation within Nepal, including pushes to use students' mother tongues as the language of instruction (with Devanagari as a "common" script) and to use minoritized languages in television and radio broadcast, have been ongoing since the 1990s.
[1] Terminology is given in Nepal Bhasa unless otherwise specified, in Prachalit followed by Devanagari script. "𑐔𑐟𑐵𑑄𑐩𑐬𑐶," "𑐡𑐶𑐐𑐸 𑐥𑐹𑐖𑐵," and "𑐎𑐷𑐩𑐵" are my transliterations from Devanagari into Prachalit. Latin transliteration is ISO 15919 standard except: "च" ([t͡ʃə]) is rendered "cha" and not "ca." Where two Latin phrases are given, the first is ISO from Devanagari, and the second is the typical English-language spelling or phrase.
Recipe under the cut!
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Ingredients
Makes 4 large.
For the topping:
3/4 cup (74g) textured vegetable protein + 1/2 cup (118mL) broth
Or 1 1/2 cup ground beef substitute of choice
1 russet potato (200g) (optional)
2 roma tomatoes, minced or thinly sliced
1 small red onion, minced or thinly sliced
1 green chili, diced or thinly sliced
1/2-inch chunk (5g) ginger, peeled and grated or pounded
2 cloves garlic, grated or pounded
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp red chili powder (substitute sweet paprika to reduce spice level)
1 tsp meat masala (optional)
2 Tbsp neutral oil (if not including 'egg')
Cilantro, to top
For the egg (optional):
2 Tbsp yellow mung flour or chickpea flour (besan)
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 tsp kala namak (black salt)
You may also use any other egg substitute. This one is inspired by Vietnamese bánh xèo. The coconut milk provides binding and fat; the final topping will not taste of coconut. You may replace it with any neutral oil.
For the batter:
1 1/2 cup (240g) white rice flour
About 1 1/2 cup (350 mL) cool water
Mustard oil, to fry
The chatamari in the photo is served with achar.
Instructions
For the batter:
1. Measure flour into a bowl. Pour in water slowly while whisking until a smooth, pourable batter (the consistency of crèpe batter) forms. Set aside to rest while making the filling.
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For the filling:
1. Peel and cube potato, then boil until soft. Mash thoroughly with a bean masher or fork.
2. Hydrate TVP in broth or stock (I used water with 1/2 tsp vegetarian beef stock concentrate) for 10 minutes.
3. Mix potato, minced tomatoes and onion, ground 'meat', spices, and 'egg' together in a large mixing bowl until well-combined.
To assemble:
1. Heat a large tawa, comal, or nonstick skillet on medium. Fill a ladle with 100 mL (a bit less than 1/2 cup) of batter, and pour it into the center of the skillet; it should become round on its own. Thin it out a bit with the bottom of the ladle.
2. Cover the top of the batter with the topping, leaving a bit of space on the edge. Optionally, add about 2 tsp of oil around the edges of the chatamari to crisp.
3. Lower the heat to low and cover. Cook for 7 minutes. Remove chatamari onto a plate.
If the rice pancake cracks, your batter is too thin; try resting it, uncovered, for 5-10 minutes, then stirring it and trying again.
4. Raise heat to medium for a minute. Add another ladle of batter, top the chatamari, add oil, lower the heat and cover to cook as before. Repeat until batter or filling runs out.
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phantomcodes · 2 years
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kyoshi | theme by sage
get the code - $1: live preview / static preview / view on @tina-snow inspired by spotify, featuring an (optional) music player and profile menu
- the song in the preview is Good Days by SZA - rina gif by @sashafierce ♡
basic features (more info below the cut):
optional: music player, tags on click, glow effect, & explore menu
full length sidebar blog icon, custom description, & up to 5 extra links
explore menu with sections for updates, bio, blogs, lots of links, & socials
customizable: colors & color gradient, body & title fonts, font size, and post margin
540px posts, scroll to top button, responsive design, search bar, day/night toggle, & adjustable border radius
nothing needs to be changed in the code, everything can be changed in the customize panel! instructions for how to customize this theme below the cut
terms:
reblog if using
do not touch the credit
view all terms
credits listed in the code / credits page
please consider supporting me ♡
make sure you read through this post and check the additional links provided before asking questions!! this theme is currently on sale as part of my 1k followers appreciation :) as of september 1st it’ll be $3!
footer
uploading your song:
i recommend using google drive to host your mp3 files - below is a brief explanation for how to do this but you can also see the resources provided here by glenthemes and more links on my credits page
to start you need an mp3 audio file, once you have the one you want go to google drive and click: + New ➞ File upload
select your mp3 audio file and click open
open your newly uploaded audio file in google drive and click the three dots on the top right, then click Share and under General Access change it to Anyone with the link can view
copy the sharing link provided, it will look something like this: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pBA6KdlLEzoEZPQ6hmaSr9LGLeCQGPxz/view?usp=sharing
go to the following site and paste your sharing url in the first box provided: https://www.joelgrayson.com/drive-download-link-generator
your final product should look something like this: https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1pBA6KdlLEzoEZPQ6hmaSr9LGLeCQGPxz
make sure the music player is toggled on in the theme, paste your audio link in the Song URL field
notes:
the song will automatically repeat once it’s finished playing
if you choose the “toggle footer” option, the footer will disappear and a button will appear on the sidebar that allows you to show/hide the footer
the footer has links for random posts, archive, askbox, & home
if you toggle the music player off, the music info on the left side of the footer will be replaced by your blog icon, title, & url
profile
header section:
your profile image is uploadable, 200px x 200px, & circular
there’s space for your name and 3 info stats with icons
updates section:
up to 6 updates with text and a title
this section will scroll if it gets too long
bio section:
this section will scroll if it gets too long
blogs section:
can be toggled on/off
up to 6 blogs
the blog images’ size will adjust depending on your font size, the default is about 100px x 100px
links section:
can be toggled on/off
up to 12 links
leave the section title field(s) empty if you want fewer links
up to 6 socials links
sidebar
image:
if you’ve uploaded a profile image this is what will show on your sidebar
if there’s no profile image uploaded, the sidebar img will be your blog’s icon
both images’ size will adjust depending on your font size, the default uploaded img is about 105px x 105px, the icon size is about 90px x 90px
notes:
the sidebar will scroll if it gets too long
i recommend keeping your description short and personally i think it looks better when it doesn’t scroll
the sidebar will disappear and become toggle-able if your browser window’s width gets too small
the sidebar toggle will appear above the profile toggle in the dropdown menu on your header
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"i'd like to dedicate this communist rap to my partner kim kitsuragi" [x]
(id in alt text and under the cut, sketches also under the cut!)
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[image ID: Part one of two of a Disco Elysium fancomic featuring Kim Kitsuragi and Harry Du Bois. Harry is wearing the Party Dragon's Silk Robe, the Insane Mesh Tank Top, and the Fingerless Gloves. Panel One: Kim, looking down at his notebook, says: "No rapping tonight." Panel Two: Harry, looking distraught, says: "What! Why?" Panel Three: Harry and Kim are standing side-by-side. Kim, with a stern expression, points at Harry, who is poking his index fingers together and looks somewhat downtrodden. Kim says: "You rap about Kras Mazov everytime, it's embarrassing." Harry says: "Okay."
Part two of two of a Disco Elysium fancomic, and a continuation of the previous image. Panel One: An empty space with only the words: "[after one commodore red]" Panel Two: Harry, surrounded by small bubbles indicating drunkenness, holds a microphone by his mouth and his his other arm extended outwards. He looks passionate and determined. He has a speech bubble surrounded by music notes that reads: "Uh oh y'all, it's time to rock our cock off". Panel Three: Kim, looking annoyed and away from Harry, brings a hand up to the side of his face to try and cover himself from being seen by others. In the background, there is an extremely simplified depiction of the Whirling-in-Rags, and the smoker on the balcony, Lena, and Garte can be vaguely seen. From off-panel, Harry continues: "Have you fellas heard of a man named MAZOV!?"
A redraw of the "Oh, Ariana, we're really in it now" meme. Harry Du Bois is pressed up against a poster that contains an image of the Guillaume le Million thought from in-game. He looks distressed and upset. Text in the image reads: "Oh, Guillaume le Million, we're really in it now."
A drawing of Harry Du Bois with a solemn expression wearing his usual outfit, with the addition of a black hat with white text on it that reads: "I'm sorry women." He is surrounded by sparkles. /end ID]
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asteromorph · 2 years
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gougar print that i fanatically carved last night .  and then printed lazily
[ image id: a black ink blockprint on brown paper, depicting a cougar with arms outstretched and ears back, lunging forward. a rectangular border wraps around it, with curved spikes resembling fangs or claws reaching towards the middle. the title at the top reads “GOUGAR” in bold letters. end id ]
bonus thoughts and photos under cut
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[ image id: a pink rubber block that has been carved with the same “gougar” image described above, flipped horizontally. end id ]
i’ve made a few prints like this before, and one thing i’ve noticed is that i tend to keep some messy details so that you can tell that it was printed from something that was carved by hand. i think that leaving it a little imperfect gives it a bit of charm, as well as adding texture to an otherwise blank space.
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[ image id: a print of the “gougar” image described above, with additional dark stripes covering the cougar, as well as the background. end id ]
its difficult to map out where the fur texture is going to be, and you can’t really tell where you’ve carved until you ink it. this is the first print i made (after i hoped and prayed i didn’t screw up the lines). i honestly think this version is really cool, but the lines were just too distracting to me. also it makes it look like a vertical tiger
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