#control mechanisms

[zomb13s]

“Psychological Manipulation and the Illusion of Intelligence: Unmasking Defective Power Dynamics in Social Interactions”

Abstract This paper explores the psychological defects inherent in individuals who manipulate others for personal gain. These individuals use tactics of deception, gaslighting, and covert aggression, believing their actions display intelligence and power. However, when their manipulative strategies are mirrored or countered, they often react irrationally, revealing a cognitive and emotional…

[illumeo]

https://www.illumeo.com/courses/segregation-duties-core-business-processes

'Segregation of Duties' (SOD) within essential business processes, a linchpin for risk management and regulatory compliance, notably Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX). SOD ensures robust internal controls by delineating distinct roles to mitigate conflicts of interest. It elucidates SOD principles, dissects specific process intricacies, and empowers participants to pinpoint vulnerabilities, enact effective SOD strategies, and comprehend control mechanisms. By mastering SOD, individuals fortify organizations against financial improprieties and regulatory breaches, safeguarding integrity and compliance.

[nhura]

QUICK NO ONE'S LOOKING

(See readmore for thoughts, cope, bonus, etc.)

Anyone else up thinking about Ratio's big, strong, secure arms and how warm and all-consuming they could be in a hug or embrace. :/ Anyway

I just wanted to draw them being cute and seizing a sliver of a moment where they could have some PDA silly time without actually having any eyes on them. They're public figures and working adults with very clear boundaries between public persona and private life (to varying degrees of "in a sad way"), so while it may be in Aventurine's nature to constantly blur lines for various agendas and self-preservation (read: play "the flirt" without an aligned goal), I believe that in an actual relationship they'd be fairly private.

It's kind of fun to break your own rules, though! Ratio would be more upset about the consequences, though. He's a little bit of a hypocrite, which is devastating for someone of such discipline, but nobody's perfect.

I'm of the mentality of, "If you're tired of working on it, then just post it!", so here are some fun peripherals that I didn't feel like adding:

Some staff in the background sweeping up to evoke a blended sense of fragile privacy and liminal time.

A laptop on the aquarium/bar/counter because there's something fascinating about seeing people on their work laptops in public.

The rest of their clothes (casual friday)

[devil-in-hiding]

*peeks*

Blue Collar Price with fat/plus size younger wifey?

*runs away*

(Also ily have a good day mumma bear!)

fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck mechanic Price with a sweet little baker as a wife

meeting you on his lunch hour with the guys, he’s immediately smitten when you hand over his tart, giving him a sweet little smile before disappearing back in the kitchen

would start to come in every chance he gets, ordering treats for the whole garage if it gave him time to just sit and admire you, lapping up the way your sweet dresses give him the perfect view of your cleavage, some days those pretty fat tits of yours threatening to spill out to his eager eyes

it takes him a total of 5 months to ask you to dinner, and four total dinners before he has you ass up on his bed, watching the way your ass jiggles with every thrust of his hips, one hand gripping your hair to keep your head up so you can hear those gorgeous sobs of his name

Usually tries to clean up a little before he sees you, but the first time you drop by the garage with his lunch he forgot to grab, and he’s already covered in grease and has his jumpsuit off his arms and tied around his waist

He got his lunch and a very enthusiastic blow job in the back that day

[faceeeeee]

Twisted time🤸‍♀️

[screwpinecaprice]

Oh oof I slipped and hit them with dark and serious beam. 😣

[truly-sincerely]

Obsessively reading everything in game by and about Gortash and the dude is

On a philosophical trajectory that ends in immortality thru technology / the machine

Doesn't have an original bone in his body, but he can backwards engineer anything

Halfway to being a decent scientist but doesn't have the education and is deeply impatient

Overconfident in the veracity of his own results and conclusions

Accurately predicted that the brain would metamorphose and become more difficult to control and then did nothing about it

Outsources his propaganda / arts and humanities

Charming, but he got there in a Pavlovian way (learned from trial and error and probably doesn't consciously know how he does it)

Vindictive af (learned / reinforced)

Darwinian (in the worst way)

Sociopathic, obviously, but extremely Rationalist about it

Never asks questions he doesn't know the answer to and probably thinks this makes him sound more authoritative

Completely incompetent as a strategist (but doesn't know it)

Not nearly as narcissistic / full of himself as he pretends to be

Thinks what he wants is praise but it's never enough because it's not actually what he wants (he wants to be wanted)

Bane makes him feel wanted (conditionally)

Durge made him feel wanted (unconditionally)

Understands intellectually that Durge got ambushed, but he feels abandoned

See also: thematic parallels between Gortash and

Silouv Yali (the Adamantine Forge & the construct Grym)

Oliver (in the shadow-cursed lands)

Astarion and Gale, obviously

[proxentauri]

if i had a nickel for every time i played a remedy game that featured courtney hope’s character trying to get to a world-altering polyhedron in a universe where humans wear special harnesses to survive a world-ending threat, i’d have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's sure weird that it's happened twice

flipped version & process beneath the cut!

beth deserved so much better...please quantum break sequel where she's happy :) please remedy...the IP is worth it i promise I'LL fucking come back for her

[zomb13s]

The Illusion of Influence: An Examination of the Media, Security Agencies, and Technological Power in Shaping Public Perception

Introduction In today’s digital age, the boundary between reality and illusion has blurred significantly. This essay explores how the perception of magical influence, akin to saying “hocus pocus” and seeing changes unfold, mirrors the intricate interplay between journalism, security agencies, state agencies, and information specialists in contemporary society. By examining these mechanisms and…

[elbiotipo]

Speaking of alternate history, I've been reading GURPS: Infinite Worlds again (a really really great book if you're interested on alternate history) and it's so obvious the authors are some kind of libertarians

The collection of alternate worlds are so interesting but what's funny is that even if you have fantasy worlds with Atlantis and shit, the dinosaur people world, the alchemy worlds (yes, I did get some inspiration from that), among the other alternate history classics like the Axis victory world and such... but then the communist parallel worlds all classified as Lenin-1, Lenin-2, Lenin-3 and so are all grim places in decline and one is straight up a hell world where the biosphere is collapsing. I think they outright state that there's no worlds where communism worked like it's a fact of nature and the reader is just supposed to accept it. It's hilarious when you think about it.

[sincerely-sofie]

Wish you were here.

[audrac-blue]

I love you potp weirdos in my phone, you're amazing <3

[oksurethisismyname]

If I want to read 85 different Zosan/Sanzo fics on AO3 as a coping mechanism for the rise of authoritarianism and the intentional destruction of guardrails in the American government, that’s called a COPING MECHANISM. It’s that or breaking my 5 years of sobriety and I’m too competitive to lose that streak!

[mudwerks]

(via The buttons on Zenith’s original ‘clicker’ TV remote were a mechanical marvel - The Verge)

The Space Command is a product of mechanical engineering rather than electrical. By pressing a button on the remote, you set off a spring-loaded hammer that strikes a solid aluminum rod in the device, which then rings out at an ultrasonic frequency. Each button has a different length rod, thus a different high-frequency tone, which triggers a circuit connected to a microphone in the television to finish the command.

fascinating old-school tech

[nshi-ao3]

That earlier ask about Dohn Mheg had me thinking about that tightrope mechanic...

[muaka-safari]

Idk if I've ever mentioned this outside of tags, but anyway, I think it's really neat that the vahki's staffs almost perfectly pair up

The staffs of suggestion and command teach the Matoran: do not trust your body. Do not presume you have autonomy. Yes, you have tools that could become weapons, but what good are they when you can't be sure if you'll still be in control after you've raised them in anger?

The staffs of confusion and erasing teach the Matoran: do not trust your mind. It can be lost, or taken, or just as easily fooled. All the better to trust only what your superiors tell you is real. Plan, sure, but don't plan too actively. Or don't plan beyond the now. Either way, always be aware your mind - and all those plans - can be eradicated in a second.

The staffs of loyalty and presence teach the Matoran: do not trust your friends. They can be made to betray you, to turn on you, to act as unwitting ears to malicious forces. Better keep your mouth shut. Better keep your distance. Better yet, trust only the powers that be.

Anyway, I think that pairs up the metrus & toa pretty interestingly

in the respective threats the metrus posed that the staffs were required (camaraderie in Ga- & Onu-Metru; physical threats from the builders and furnace workers of Po- & Ta-Metru; the foresight and quick reactions of Ko- & Le-Metru)

in the ways the Metrus adapted in opposite ways (Matoran of Onu-Metru seem pretty isolated, while Ga-Metru seems more social, for example) (Le-Matoran focus on the immediate now, while Ko-Matoran predict the future)

and in the ways the Toa Metru (and even their masks sometimes) reflect that (Onewa literally gets a mask of command (a fight back response) while Vakama gets a mask of invisibility (reflecting his "keeping his head down" time as a mask maker))