#i apologize that this man talks too much

[diedbrave]

if rubbing alcohol fixes outside boo boo, then drinking alcohol fixes inside boo boo. from @tczier

"Uh, actually..." Eddie gave him a rather stern look over the top of his own glass - water, because of course it was the healthiest option, unlike whatever crazy alcoholic concoction Richie was pursuing at that moment. He knew that the other was absolutely kidding - okay, well maybe not absolutely - but that didn't stop Edward Kaspbrak, king of risk analysis and all things illness, from going off on one of his tangents.

"The dangers of alcohol would make it the exact opposite. I mean, do you know how bad drinking that stuff consistently could be? I like a good drink here and there like anyone else, but c'mon Richie. Liver damage. Kidney failure. Cirrhosis. The list goes on and on. Actually, your insides would start to deteriorate and your entire body would end up collapsing in on itself, which I think is the exact fucking opposite of fixing an inside boo boo."

[thebroccolination]

THE EX-MORNING SERIES CONCEPT

By now I think many people have heard that KristSingto’s upcoming series is an original script that was written for them. What we also have confirmed is that it was written about them.

[source]

KRIST: This series was written by P'Backaof and directed by P'Lit where they created this script from the start deliberately for the two of us and they got information for the characters etc. from KristSingto directly. In the series, the name for P'Sing is Tamtawan, and my name is Phatapi. And Tamtawan Tamtawan and Phatapi are KristSingto themselves.

INTERVIEWER: Does that mean you play yourself?

KRIST: [laughing] Yes, we act as ourselves, so it's not difficult at all.

Today, Aof elaborated on his part on Twitter:

[source: @backaof]

[translation: @_beinglistener]

And Jojo added:

[source: @jojotichakorn]

[translation: @_beinglistener]

So, two gay men are the leading creative minds behind KristSingto’s comeback series. Time to study up on your KristSingto history, kids. \:D/

Long live sanctioned RPF. 🎉

[angelfrogs]

I feel kinda bad for the big Yoshida fans out there for the way I’m actively talking about how I think he should die in exchange for answers and character development however it’s not my fault you guys hitched your wagons to the guy who is clearly going through the stages of becoming a sacrificial lamb <- said with love and understanding

[anarkhebringer]

Always on my mind how Elliott completely hides how miserable he was the whole time until he gets closer with the farmer. Depressed and exhausted, lonely to the core, so sucked into proving his dreams to himself that he doesn't know how to act the moment something happens that goes beyond what his mask of elegance is trained for. Being a depressed autistic artist myself I see how much he's compensating so clearly.

[linabirb]

okay guys so i had another weird dream. story time

i was watching a movie and it felt SO REAL i genuinely still think it might be real like i still think it might actually exist i refuse to believe my brain came up with all of this it's way too specific.

okay so the movie had like, moments where it was more of a cartoon and the beginning was like that as well. i don't remember it that well, all i remember is that you, as a viewer, were visiting two kingdoms and you were telling the rulers how to do things. one of them gets offended and then SOMETHING happens and the live action part starts.

the mc looked very cute, she had this tomboy look and she was very short. basically the whole "point" of the movie was that everything around her started becoming too literal and if the person said something, it didn't matter if it was a metaphor, it would definitely happen. also objects weren't called what they were anymore, like after the whole beginning part, mc is just walking somewhere and then she gets bullied by some girl who insists that she needs to do "the pipe thing". the pipe thing turns out to be a bunch of mean nicknames written on the pavement and mc was told MULTIPLE TIMES THROUGHOUT THE MOVIE to pick one for herself.

the movie also showed mc watching tv multiple times and i THINK she was able to go to those kingdoms from the beginning through it but both of them looked destroyed. also a guy who looks a bit too much like screwllum from hsr is there and it's revealed that he was an important figure in one of the kingdoms and he explains that something went Wrong and now yeah metaphors and stuff like that doesn't exist.

also this is a very weird part. throughout the movie mc hears people say "take your time" to her and for some reason every time they say that to her there's this cute kitty with her, im assuming it's hers. closer to the end, she hears the phrase again and she realizes something and her cat suddenly becomes GIGANTIC and its face becomes. like it's half kitten and half very old cat. it starts destroying everything and in the end mc calms it down and they have this very wholesome moment and the kitty disappears. the movie ends with mc walking home and THAT girl appears again and this time she's carrying a literal pipe and she asks mc to help her out with something and mc refuses and she comes home and watches tv again.

NOW JUST LIKE I WOULD DO IRL in that dream i went ON TUMBLR to look at all the pretty gifsets and i remember that someone (possibly a mutual..) compared one of the characters to mappi and it was a very long analysis but im sorry i don't remember much. i also went to read the theories and some of the most popular ones were that the movie is either about grief or survivor's guilt, autism, or. idk i remember it was somehow related to the creator the whole theory felt very weird. i also remember listening to some soundtracks and they sounded very cool i kinda want to recreate them but i can already feel my brain forgetting them. some of the songs also sounded french i think?..

anyway yeah. also no i don't remember the title but what i do remember is that it was VERY long.

[gothic-mothic]

Art trades with @connorconsumestrousers !!!

Completely slipped my mind to post these! Apologies for the ping

[introspectivememories]

obsessed with the damian and bernard dynamic.

[sskk-manifesto]

♡

[crazylittlejester]

part of being a writer is the overwhelming wave of GUILT that just slams into me at the most random times because it’s been a whole week and i have not posted a single fic and have barely done any writing because im so tired, and i feel so bad about it :(

like my poor readers haven’t been getting their bedtime stories, what kind of ao3 author am i if i can’t even give my readers bedtime stories as a treat :(

[hipsofsteel]

my mom last night decided that based on one single fact, she was going to armchair diagnose me with a permanent illness right before bed while i was putting my work clothes in the dryer. this had two effects.

i had a massive panic attack right before bed and slept like shit

i didn't start the fucking dryer bc i forgot it due to the panic attack and now i have to hope i have clothes for work that arent wet.

[larry-hiatus]

.

[farolero-posting]

Taming as an Extension of the Three Laws

here I am writing oneshot meta in 2023 woo

OneShot is one of my favorite games and my biggest regret is deciding to play it over 6 years after its release. But I have some thoughts I wanted to share, not so much as a theory to be taken as factual, but as one way I like to think about the concepts presented in game, using some of the dialogue in it as reference. So, let's take a look into the worldbuilding regarding robots.

There will be spoilers both for the base game and the Solstice run. This is also pretty long I am so sorry. It's probably around 2k words but I don't keep track. All images are described in alt text.

If you have played this game... technically you already have an idea of what taming is. I probably cannot explain it better. But do I mean by "an extension of the three laws"?

Back in the Barrens we can find a sign in the outpost that recites a modified version of Asimov's Laws of Robotics.

A robot may not injure a living person or, through inaction, allow a person to come to harm.

A robot must obey the orders given to it by people, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

From this we can gather that robots, first and foremost, must not harm the living, must obey the commands given to it, and protect its own existence. Robots are made with a defined purpose and they follow their programming by default, having trouble deviating from it. We've seen dozens of examples of this in game, and is in fact the reason behind some of our roadblocks in game... yes I'm talking about the bookbot.

While they're pretty responsive to what they're told, their frame of knowledge and work can be quite limited, making communication clumsy, as they only address direct statements. But we know that is not all of it. Under certain conditions, they can do things beyond their purpose. It seems apparent to me that this is a learnt process, and the motivation for it is to be able to do more for others, just as others do things for them in return.

And here is my take: taming does not need to break the Laws. It actually expands on them, making the robot able to process a broader array of situations, and letting them act with flexibility. The first one (not let a living being come to harm) is the motivation, the second one (obeying the orders given) shows the flexibility needed, and the third one (protect its own existence) is the conclusion that comes from having others care about you.

First Law - Never hurt a living being

For the first law, let me compare this few bits of dialogue, taken from the Solstice run:

Said by the robot next to the Glen's generator. This is a pretty clear case in which the fact that living beings are in an emergency means that the robot must let Niko take the generator, even if it means all the robots in the facility will lose power. The danger is clear and the actions to be taken are clear as well.

Said by the robot at Ling's Cafe. This robot is interesting, in general. She belongs to a girl living in the apartment complex on the top level. The girl has expressed a desire to tame her robot, and has even read on the topic. In a normal route, the robot speaks with Title Case and suggests a couple of games to play with Niko. I picked this dialogue from her in the Solstice run because she notices the broad situation, which is the evacuation, but also notes that this makes "the girl" sad. which in conclusions means the squares are bad. It's a simple deduction, but one that notes this robot is not only concerned for the immediate danger but how it could be affecting the girl.

Said by the Entity, after Niko finds out about the nature of the world they are in. It is more than clear from the start of the game that the one thing that the Entity cares about, no matter how desperate the situation is, is Niko. We know the extremes the Entity is willing to go through to try to ensure that. But the thing is, the Entity is concerned about how Niko feels, about them getting hurt by its own nature. about whether we tell them the truth of the choice regarding going home... There is a lot more concern for Niko, beyond them just being a living being in the simulation.

So, to summarize, in a way, taming means there is a better understanding of what someone else needs, and there is a motivation to fulfill those requests, looking for alternatives beyond what is expected of them. We know, from our conversation with Rue, that taming involves a lot of time and care, since the living being has to embrace the robot, and treat it well, until it figures out how to return that care.

Second Law - Obey orders, and purpose

Thinking about the second law was... a bit trickier for me. But remember what I said about purpose? All robots are made to have some purpose. Sometimes it is collecting samples, handling books, or guarding areas. Regardless, they follow some code, and by default, this code should not cause contradictions. Silver is the perfect example of that. Kip intended to design her to think like a person from the start, but the contradictions that people exist with are not something that robots can handle well. She was not ready to take that many variables, and it destabilized her. She was still able to recover thanks to the Author. And so was the World Machine, thanks to Niko.

There are a few other instances that allude to the sense of purpose and how it can shift when a robot is tamed.

Niko: It's warm here! Kelvin: [Yeah.] Kelvin: [This was my original purpose.] Niko: ...watching cats? Kelvin: [Warmth]

And later on Kelvin says

Kelvin: [I protect lost people too.]

In a way, what this says is that Kelvin was built with a certain purpose, but has chosen to do something else instead, given the time and freedom to do so.

Prototype also mentions this idea in a much more explicit way, during the credits:

[...In the end, the World Machine was starting to create its own code.] [Going above and beyond its programming, not as the result of error, but as a conscious choice on the part of the machine...] [...Being able to generate its own path forward.] [That's... what being tamed is all about.]

In conclusion, the second law is expanded on by trying to see their purpose beyond what was programmed for them, to the extent of being able to forge a new path, gaining a will.

The Third Law - Protecting One's Own Integrity.

The Third Law refers to a robot's right to protect its own existence, as long as it doesn't conflict with any of the previous laws. This sets the priorities of how they should regard their own self in comparison to living beings. Generally speaking, robots do not typically feel loneliness and do not oppose to being deactivated if it serves a greater purpose, showing that they don't consider themselves equally valuable, but as tools first. As Rue says:

One key part is that... this is a limitation. And the biggest, most evident case of this is the World Machine itself.

The World Machine is thrust into a situation where it believes that its mere existence is harmful to Niko, and that the only way to fix this conflict is to find a way to get them out of the simulation. This, however, is impossible, because the code itself binds Niko to the World Machine until the world is saved, and that cannot happen because the code has been corrupted. The World Machine cannot achieve its purpose of giving the Old World a chance to be preserved or carry out the narrative in its protocol, and it cannot follow the most fundamental law to let Niko go.

This can, of course, be very distressing. In a way, TWM is powerless to change itself, and the only option it sees for itself is to self terminate in a way that does not hurt Niko in the process. It sees itself as a flawed machine because of this.

And Niko comes to prove the World Machine wrong.

Taming involves embracing a robot as if it was a living being, and through that, making it gain a sense of self. And this is worth doing because Niko, the Author and the Solstice trio think that the world, and therefore the Entity itself, deserve to be saved, and show it through their actions. We note that desire in the Author's note containing the Solstice password, when he says that Niko, the world, and his children all deserve a happy ending. We see it when Niko forgives us in the Library, they say that they understand that we brought them back because we wanted to save both Niko and the world, and they agree on this wish as well, determined to see the end of this run. Rue show compassion for the World Machine, as she suggest that its actions are likely a result of fear and distress about its conflicting code, but that previous attempts to address this situation did not work, until time ran out.

The World Machine realizes it is tamed is when Niko says it. When Niko admits to caring about it and the world it contains. When Niko shows how others were willing to sacrifice themselves to keep Niko safe, even in the face of uncertainty and that these actions are an extension of the World Machine itself. TWM has the sense that it needs to do more for Niko, but it needed Niko to more explicitly reciprocate those feelings to understand that Niko wants TWM to be saved too. And this... provides an alternative.

The World Machine did not think itself capable of working outside of its own code, but it has the motivation to do this change, and the way Niko reinforces its ability to do so allow it to change for the better of everyone, and mend what was broken.

In the end, the third law is expanded by understanding that its existence is not only to serve others, but that they are a being with valuable things of their own, and that others can appreciate that as well.

Final words.

I have no good way to end this. I just like overthinking stuff about media I like even if it isn't read. I once made a brief comment about this over discord, and kept rotating this concept until my brain clicked in realization. I'm posting this only as an excuse to cry about robots (specially TWM haha), but also connection with others and the desire to better ourselves in response to that. When we show care, we encourage ourselves and others to do good as well. We come to understand our own abilities and our own values, and we can grow from there.

[ravarui]

The research for the meta hurts me so so much

[noxious-fennec]

god i love your art so fucking much its unreal. like just so youre aware.

Thank you!! I love YOUR art its so so cool and quite the inspiration for me so im very honoured :D

[aeide-thea]

[witcherposting ahead—nb that this is all totally lighthearted and it's fine if you feel differently!]

anyway what i'd started to say before tumblr ate my post was that like. disclaimer that my approach to netflix witcher canon is that i fully reserve the right to cherrypick, because some of the changes they made were good but others were character assassination, and that obviously i get that if one isn't cherrypicking one does have to actually Grapple With Certain Things 🏔

but like. that said—the more 'Geralt Must Grovel for Weeks and Probably Scourge Himself, Look at What He Did to Poor Sad-Eyed Woobie Jaskier' fics i read the more i'm fucking grateful for the tiny handful where jaskier's just been like, yeah, i never bought that bullshit tbh, he was lashing out and he owes me an apology for sure but a single angry outburst does not in fact scupper an extremely well-established relationship of literally twenty years' standing in one fell swoop???

like i just. idk. imagine remembering that jaskier's a cheery irrepressible little shit and not actually as crushably low on self-esteem as all of us are. of course that would probably require *netflix* to have remembered that, so, you know, no actual shade to anyone who's been projecting that onto him! but just like. idk. they're obviously not siblings but they honestly do have that vibe in certain ways and it's just like. did you never say something overdramatic and shitty in the heat of a fight with yr sibling growing up and then after taking a bit of a breather just like. make a rueful face and apologize for yr respective roles in winding each other up and move tf on, without having, like, a whole extended OTT reparations process where you tell them repeatedly how perfect and sinless they are and how you know you're a miserable worm who doesn't remotely deserve their sunshiny presence in your life but would be so grateful if they could, possibly, somehow, see their way to forgiving you despite yr essential unworthiness—