#gnome-disk

[mystery-twin-mystery-bags]

A new journal entry, something about a sticky new piece of technology? Papers for walls?? Wallpapers by our silly mod, Vely.

Wallpapers and other digital goods are available for download on our Ko-Fi!

The Mystery Twin Mystery Bags project is a Gravity Falls-themed fundraiser for Gaza aid. If you’d like to learn more about us, please check our pinned FAQ!

[Image Description 1: Author Journal Entry: Ford and Dipper find a gnome inside the Mystery Bag. The gnome seems to be choking and Ford helps him and out comes a sticky USB. The USB contains wallpapers for mobile and PC devices. Ford is perplexed by this new human technology (and the lack of floppy disks)] [Image Description 2: MTMB Mobile Wallpapers] [Image Description 3: MTMB PC Wallpapers]

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[crystaltoa]

So, I wanted to do more character designs for the Toa Metru fantasy AU from this post, but I’m waiting for my new drawing tablet to arrive. So in the meantime, I’m making the characters in Heroforge.

So as you may recall, Nuju is an elf in this AU. His outfit is more or less a recreation from the drawing I did.

And Whenua’s a dungeoneering dwarf, who has no right to be pulling off the monobrow as well as he does.

Matau’s a gnome. Designated Funny Little Guy for life.

Nokama is a… I don’t know, honestly. I was thinking like a Neriad or a Nixie, though the closest thing in DnD would be a Sea Elf. I was planning on giving her blue skin, but there wasn’t a shade that worked well and she looked like a Na’Vi, so I went with a more realistic skin tone with some blue markings and I actually really like how it looks.

Onewa's a half-orc. He's the one I'd probably change the most when drawing him since Heroforge didn't have quite the hair or beard style that I wanted for him, and I don't think his face 'reads' as Onewa in the same way that the other characters look like themselves. That said, I like how his build turned out, and I think his outfit suggests an interesting story.

And Vakama, the token human blacksmith. His weapon is a magic crossbow since that seemed the most conceptually similar thing to the disk launcher.

[its-desca]

Ok I’m all for the theory that the HLAGE gnome is Benry, but. Has anyone considered that it might be the entire science team fused into one entity? I mean, there was Dr. Coomers whole speech about how Gordon should put them on a floppy disk and carry them around irl, doesn’t the gnome kind of carry that same purpose now that it’s a physical object?

I mean, the gnome constantly complimenting Benrey and talking about how great he is 24/7 sounds like Benrey (as well as just generally fucking with Gordon). The gnome saying stuff like “Hello, Gordon” even ending with “Goodbye, Gordon” is like Dr Coomer (plus its self awareness of chat) (plus its tamagotchi style meters)z It’s forgetfulness and tendency to get off topic is Tommy (Also the gnomes love of Peppa pig, come on, Tommy would LOVE Peppa pig). It’s pride and obviously holding itself in high regard is Bubby (I’d also like to think Bubby is the one obsessed with the Marlboros).

There’s also the fact that all of RTVS controlled the gnome backs this up that its multiple entities. Like obviously it constantly changing its mind and arguing with itself was meant to be a bit, but when you think about what it means canonically I don’t think the idea that the gnome is multiple people is too far off.

My final piece of evidence is that we LITERALLY see the gnome in the last place we saw the science team, the theater they watched the cast commentary in. It’s definitely the same one, the gnome even directly mentions the soda left in the cup holder that Tommy offered to Gordon in the cast commentary.

Im DEFINITELY thinking about this too hard but my poor little brain needs and explanation for this series it was so cool!!!

[mirqmarq428]

okay then give me your controversial linux opinions!

Thanks!

systemd is fine but you should use others to know how an init was supposed to work

Manjaro is worse than the devil

FISH is bad because people see fish features and assume they're exclusive to fish (not true)

ZSH is the Best Shell and we should link it to /bin/sh and everything. OhMyZsh is a crime against humanity, which adds runtime bloat to zsh and pushes people onto fish

Disk space bloat is good, actually. Give me all the files. This is completely different from runtime bloat

Powershell is actually a decent language for Linux scripts. It has types and can process json but shell commands are trivial as well.

GNOME system monitor is a better task manager than htop

The only filesystem you should ever need is BTRFS

Emacs is the best vim

[bjsmall]

05.09.24

Linux laptop project 2024.

I decided to upgrade my old laptop by making it a Linux dual boot system. I had never done this before. I downloaded the ISO files for Linux Mint 22 'Wilma' and Ubuntu 24.04.1 'Noble Numbat' LTS.

The selected files include the standard desktop environments for each, Cinnamon, for Linux Mint and GNOME for Ubuntu.

Then using the built in USB disk creator on Linux Mint, I created bootable USBs, one for Linux Mint and one for Ubuntu. I decided to install Linux Mint first. The installation includes creating partitions and I used the installation partition creator to create a 25 Giga-byte partition in which I installed Linux Mint. The installation went ahead smoothly, and when it completed, I booted up Linux Mint. It looked perfect.

See screenshots below.

I then installed GParted, which is a more powerful partition manager to create the additional partitions I needed. I created a 25 Giga-byte partition for Ubuntu, two other 25 Giga-byte partitions and I hundred Giga-byte data partition formatting them all using ext4.

I then installed Ubuntu. During the installation, I selected the extended install, rather than the minimal install, so I had a full Ubuntu desktop installation on the second partition on my laptop hard drive. This all went well and at the end of it all I had a system which could boot either Linux Mint or Ubuntu.

After installation, I booted each system up individually and updated them with the latest updates available, and then I installed necessary software that I wanted such as the Google Chrome Browser, Audacity, VLC Media Player, GIMP, Asunder CD ripper.

I also reinstalled the Chrome web apps for Microsoft Clipchamp and Trimble SketchUp web.

The majority of software bundled on these Linux distros is already preinstalled. I then had fun tweaking each install and making them look how I wanted.

Here is a list of some of the tasks I did in both installs:

- configuring the desktop environment to my liking, e.g. background, theme colour, dark theme (Ubuntu) mixed colour scheme (Mint). - added Bluetooth devices (headphones, Mini-Rig speaker) - added the printer device - dual booted into each one to check them out!

-

After this, Dad wanted to finish the set-up in such a way that I could link my local laptop Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Music and Video folders directly to the data partition, which would mean that I could access those folders automatically from any installed Linux distributions, however this didn't quite go to plan and messed some things up, so we decided to re-install both operating systems again and I repeated all the previous steps and left out the folder sharing part for now.

-

The images underneath show the final desktop installs with my various theme and desktop personalisation's applied and all the installed apps.

Here is a screenshot of the 'GNOME image viewer' in Mint and Ubuntu.

Ubuntu Linux is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a web post.

See link below:

https://ubuntu.com/20years

For more information about the Linux laptop project, search 'Linux' on my Tumblr blog!

[herrlindemann]

Orkus - 2000

Thank to ramjohn for the scans!

Rammstein have retreated to the truly flat country to work on their long-awaited third studio album: In Mol, Belgium, there are only meadows, cows — and one of the most modern studios in Europe.

"We didn't come here entirely voluntarily," Schneider admits to the handful of German and English journalists who came to the Belgian hinterland on the weekend of the EM final to find out about the progress of activities for the Rammstein album, working title ‘Mutter’, which is expected at the beginning of next year  — to be informed. “Our engineer Jacob Hellner, who was also responsible for the last two albums, is tied to the Galaxy Studios. The technical possibilities here are fantastic and the working atmosphere is great, but there is hardly any variety.” But that's easy to imagine, because the complex, which is just under an hour and a half from Brussels Airport, is literally on a green field: Mol is a small village with maybe fifty low-rise family houses that look like a cross between the sample catalog of the local builders' merchant and the clinker brick building of the North German lowlands. English lawns, psychedelic splendor of roses, strictly trimmed boxwood and garden gnomes included. The large, blue clinker building rises almost like a foreign body between gardens and pastures with strangely pig-like, colorless cows. Illustrious guests like the Guano Apes, dEUS, Die Krupps or Such A Surge have worked here, as have Joan Osborne, Lauryn Hill and the Kelly Family. Olli's old mobile home seems a bit out of place in the parking lot of the high-tech sound company. “Tomorrow we're going back to Berlin,” he says happily. “Then on to Japan, where we will play the old program for the last time at the Fudji Rock Festival. Then we come back here to finish the mixes.” However, a large part of the album was created in the spring for a good six weeks in a studio in the south of France. "It was fantastic there," Richard recalls, "the studio was idyllically situated in the vineyards, and we were accommodated directly on the property. Till recorded part of the vocals in the living room of his apartment there and we had friends and relatives visiting.” Admittedly, the Berliners didn't do badly with the accommodation in Belgium either: They reside about 20 minutes by car from the studio in the country, house hotel and restaurant 'Hippocampus', which is one of the best in Belgium, which really has a lot of culinary highlights is applicable. "The food here is almost too good," admits Olli. (Which the journalists were able to easily convince themselves of later at dinner in the same restaurant!) “Sometimes we cycle from the hotel to the studio to stay fit.” Not a bad performance at around 14 kilometers one-way.

“Otherwise we replay the EM games and work concentrated on the album.” Despite the grueling production, the guys look fresh and fit, if just a little bit excited: “You're the first to hear some of the new tracks,” says Richard. “We are curious to see what you have to say about it.” In addition to the journalists, representatives from the label's Hamburg and London offices have also arrived — no wonder he's a little nervous. But before the eagerly awaited listening session in the light-wood paneled control room with the estimated five meter long mixing console, a typically Belgian pastime is the order of the day: the studio's own chef has set up a veritable monster buffet — meat, pasta, salads, fish and seafood, for dessert: Belgian chocolates. Fed up and satisfied, journalists and record company staff push their way through the complex's complex corridors to the place of revelation. And they certainly won't be disappointed: three finished pieces and three more in the raw version are blown around their ears in two rounds with studio loudspeakers costing x thousand marks. First impression: breathless. Barring another catastrophe of the magnitude of a total hard disk crash (Hard Disc Recording!), this will be the most fantastic Rammstein album ever. Powerful and aggressive, yet more differentiated than Herzeleid, the new material leans more in the direction of Sehnsucht. ‘Sonne’, the first track, is a super-catchy banger with siren-like female voices in the background and an abrupt end: «Aus». More please! ‘Links’ hits like a bomb: Oskar Lafontaine's famous book title as an obvious dig at all the hostilities of recent years and next to it a puristic song in the best Rammstein manner - except for the bluesy (!) solo. And this piece also ends far too quickly: 'Left, two three four...'. The next track also has a controversial subject: this is about a priest who feels attracted to his young protégés, in proper style with sacred choirs and bells. The three following rough mixes are announced as not yet finished, but they also promise something outstanding: ‘Mein Herz brennt’ is already very epic and reminds a bit of Puff Dandy's famous collaboration with Jimmy Page, here Till acts as a desperate children's fright. With a long, melancholic guitar solo and distinctive string riff, this might be the longest song presented. ‘Feuer frei’ seems the most electronic with its EBM rhythm, but impresses with ultra-fat riffs and crazy guitar effects. But this track also has a short, quiet middle part with noticeable synth sprinklings. "Bang Bang", the end - Rammstein seem to develop a preference for concise closing sentences on this album... Stylized children's babble marks the beginning of the most unusual and lyrically most personal of the songs presented: ‘Mutter’. Melancholic and balladesque, it comes across as a private reckoning with a traumatic, motherless childhood — less aggressive than deeply hurt. Although of course no savings were made on hearty lines of text.

After twice a good twenty minutes it's all over; Still a little dazed, but visibly enthusiastic, the crowd of critics staggers back to the surface. Predicate: particularly valuable — it would have to be hell if Rammstein weren't able to underpin their position as the most influential German band at the turn of the millennium with this album. Although there could still be a few surprises waiting for us between what we have just heard and the finished product: “We will be more varied,” promises Paul and grins, “the album should contain both punk influences and hits.” There still seems to be a lot to come!

[starlightcleric]

WIP Wednesday

I actually have something to share this week! :D

--

Kanerah smiled from the shadow of a pillar in Jamandi’s great hall. Her eyes tracked the movements of the half-elf woman she was about to pin all her hopes on. Again, Kanerah thanked her lucky stars that the investigation had turned up evidence in her favor. She didn’t know if she could have stood to cozy up to that smarmy gnome.

But this adventurer, she was going somewhere and Kanerah wanted to be along for the ride. Amber Leigh, her name was, and she had the makings of a baroness. She could not claim great beauty or force of personality, but from the little Kanerah had observed her, her mind was sharp. Her clothes, while the dark, simple clothes of an adventurer, were well made and lightly embroidered with designs of a culture Kanerah could not identify. She conducted herself well, seeming to pick up on the intricacies of Brevan social customs even faster than Kanerah had.

Yes, Kanerah thought she could tolerate tying herself to this woman, and the sidelong glances she had caught Amber making at her when she thought she wasn’t looking didn’t hurt. Of course, Kalikke complicated the whole matter, she held her own opinions, but Kanerah was certain that once they recovered the Disk of the Eclipse, it would all be worth it.

And now, here was her cue. Kanerah plucked two glasses of wine off the tray of a nearby servant, and moved to intercept the dark-haired half-elf. Amber looked down at her, with calculation but not with surprise, and Kanerah smiled and offered the glass of wine from her left hand. “Will you drink with me?”

[biggestdev]

Unfortunately, I've come to the conclusion that I am too much of a messy bitch for Arch Linux.

I tried to keep my laptop going, I really did, but I figure I just had too many conflicting packages installed, and my routine of monthly (or even longer) updates kept screwing me over.

I should have guessed when I had something like 2,000 packages to update, and a dozen conflicts. I tried my normal MO (remove the conflicting packages & dependant apps, then reinstall after the big upgrade), and another red flag came up when I had to leave it on overnight to compile AUR packages (which should have taken minutes, not hours!)

Eventually it finished. Reboot... Black screen. Couldn't even get a terminal!

Thankfully it didn't scramble the disk, so I didn't loose any data. But at this point I'm too tired to recover my install... Again. I'm giving Kubuntu a try.

Yeah, yeah, sNaPs BaD or whatever, but at this point I need system stability more than anything else.

But at least I got the distro with KDE. GNOME BAD.

[is-this-plural]

the gnome from half life alyx vr but the gnome is too aware

Rating:Please insert disk 2

[bluebeetle]

posting this to help me keep track

Aboard Nautiloid

Save the brain.

Free Shadowheart (Necessary to recruit her).

Defeat Commander Zhalk and obtain his sword--didnt do, will try for my durge

Nautiloid Crash

Free Lae’zel (recruit her as a companion).

Find Astarion (recruit him as a companion).

Wake up Shadowheart (recruit her as a companion).

Free Gale from the rift (recruit him as a companion).

Unlock Speak With Dead and Talk With Animal spells. You’ll constantly use these throughout the game.

Investigate Dank Crypt (to the East of your starting point) and find Withers - This will allow you to reclass at any time at camp for 100 Gold.

Emerald Grove

Near Or In Druid’s Grove

Go to Druid’s Grove and meet Wyll, who’s training children with swords. (Recruit him as a companion).

Speak to Volo, which will make him move to the Goblin Camp. Then speak to him at the Goblin Camp, save him, and he’ll move to your camp.

Talk to Khaga and Rath. Learn about Khaga’s plan for the ritual. Rath will ask you to save Halsin.

Talk to the Strange Ox at Druid’s Grove.

Talk to Alfira and learn how to play an instrument.

Talk to Dammon (he’s needed for Karlach’s companion quest after recruiting).

Save the Tiefling from the Bugbear Assassin--he killed her ):

Rescue the child from the Harpies. Found to the Northeast of the Grove’s heart, keep going until you hear singing.

Absolute Cultists ambush you near the Grove.

Blighted Village

Find the Masterwork Weapon blueprints at the blacksmith’s home, and then finish them--still need to finish them, may look up the tree location bc i failed the nature check

Find the book Necromancy of Thay.

Climb into the well and defeat the Astral Spider Queen and its children--started this but havent fought the actual queen yet.

Rescue Barcus the Gnome from the Goblins and Windmill.

Find Scratch the Dog, who’s roaming just outside the village, and lead him to your camp.

Vanquish or recruit the trio of Ogres.

In the barn on the North side of town, there’s an “interesting” scene between a Bugbear and Ogre.

A cave outside of the village has an Owlbear and its cub you can interact with.

The Risen Road

Find and recruit Karlach. She’s at the end of the river over a log.

Help Karlach destroy the Fake Paladins that are hunting her.

Waukeen’s Rest

Save the survivors from the burning building. Just follow the Flaming Fist knights and clear the blocked door--triggered this but didnt do it so they all died except a few, oop

Find the Zhentarim survivors fighting off enemies, save them, and get the Missing Shipment quest.

In Northwest Waukeen’s Rest find the entrance to the Zhentarim hideout.

Free the artist in the Zhentarim Hideout. He’ll pop up later in Baldur’s Gate.

Goblin Camp

Find Halsin and free him from prison. Head West to find the prison when you enter the Sanctum part of the camp.

Rescue Volo.

Talk to the priest of Loviatar, found on the East side of the Sanctum.

Halsin will ask you to take out the three Goblin Leaders, or “True Souls.”

Race the Owlbear and free it from the Goblins. It’ll appear in your camp later--didnt do this ): sorry lil guy... def gonna do it in my durge or origin playthru

Putrid Bog/Riverside Teahouse

Save Mayrina and fight Auntie Ethel--started it

Confront the Monster Hunter tracking Astarion.

Underdark

In the Underdark

Find the Selunite outpost.

Retrieve Phalar Aluve, the sword stuck in the stone.

Find the Arcane Tower and explore it.

In Arcane Tower, there’s a Stool of Mysterious Strength that you can destroy for a rare Club.

Find the dog’s grave near the Arcane Tower, and leave flowers on it.

Opposite the Arcane Tower, find the Festering Cove and the fish people worshipping a false god.

In Arcane Tower, interact with the Gith Disk, then show it to Lae’zel.

Find the petrified Drow and defeat the Spectator in combat.

Find the Myconid Colony, and choose to help the Myconic or the Duergar.

Help Gut defeat the Duergar, then either befriend or betray Gut.

Find the Gnome Thulla in the Myconid Colony, and cure her with an Antidote.

Find Baelan and save him from the explosive mushrooms.

Where you saved Baelan, you can also pick a rare mushroom and give it to Baelan to restore his memory, or give it to Shadowheart to unlock a special memory for her--i fucked up, will do as durge.

Meet Omellum in the Myconid Colony. He can give you a ring to protect your mind from the tadpole.

Find Sussur Bark for the Masterwork Weapon in the Blighted Village.

Find Icy Metal, Icy Heave, and Icy Crystal, then craft the Mourning Frost Staff.

Eliminate Nere and bring his head to the Myconid.

Grymforge

Obtain the Sergeant’s boots.

Save the Grymforge Gnomes, then report back to Thulla at the Myconic Colony.

Find the Runepowder Gnome, past the hidden kitchen area.

Find the Adamantine Forge and two pieces of Mithril Ore. Then defeat Grym in battle (use one character to aggro Grym onto the hammer platform, then another character to pull the lever and drop the hammer on him.)

Help the cursed monk

Mountain Pass

Find the Githyanki Creche and investigate it. It’s a lengthy section that ties into Lae’Zel’s companion quest.

Steal a Githyanki egg for the woman in the pass.

Find the Blood of Lathander mace.

Speak with Elminster at the entrance to the Shadow-Cursed Lands (part of Gale’s quest).

ok still a lot to do, imma take a break from the auntie ethel stuff for now and see if i can do anything else. i know where lae'zels stuff is but im gonna see if i can get to some of the other stuff i havent done yet. and if i miss something or fuck it up ill use my other runs to hopefully do them?? there's just so much jeez...and i dont wanna trigger act 2 yet by going to the moonrise towers.

[mareastrorum]

WIP Wednesday: TF&TS (Bounties)

Here are two related scenes from early chapters of a longfic I am working on.

Fanfic Summary: Mollymauk Tealeaf survived the encounter with the Iron Shepherds, but a short time later, a spirit had begun hunting him, claiming that he stole his body. This Campaign 2 AU begins with Episode 26 and continues on from there.

This fanfic will be posted on AO3 starting hopefully by Friday 7/28.

3 FESSURAN 835 PD

“I have encountered some ‘inspiration’ to improve on my work. Acquire some specimens for me.”

The man picked up a slip of paper with scribbled notes. “How many?”

“An initial set of twenty will do for now. Ten thousand gold for living subjects. One thousand for remains. I anticipate that obtaining survivors will be implausible, considering their abilities. However, I will take any live ones you can find.”

“Is there a deadline?”

“Preferably as quickly as possible, though there is no particular end date. To encourage expediency, hint that the bounty will be reduced as more subjects are obtained.”

“Any other conditions?”

“Unspoiled. Deduct from the pay for lost limbs, severe damage, et cetera. Use your discretion.”

“Very well. I will get word out to the appropriate channels immediately.”

“Be sure to keep this anonymous. They are all dissidents, but with this new war, there is no need to risk further social upset. A quiet purge of the more heretical Julous remnants is best.”

“Of course. Anything else?”

“Find more on that one from today. He had a team as well—look into them, especially the Xhorhasian.”

“Yes, Archmage.”

* * *

17 CUERSAAR 835 PD

Bull wasps were such an interesting species. Other than the usual diet of pollen and fruit, the aggressive insects also hunted. In addition to spiders and insects, they used mandibles to cut into corpses and harvest flesh from within, feeding the next generation on the fallen. They had an uncanny memory for faces, recognizing their foes and attacking without hesitation.

However, bull wasps preferred live prey. An apt symbol for the Archmage of Dysology.

Master Doolan Tversky had lived nearly two-hundred years by now, and the clever gnome had never quite grown out of her enjoyment of pulling things apart. Tversky was responsible for researching arcane biological threats to the Empire. Biological weapons were rampant in the prior age, and her research into the monstrosities of Molaesmyr, Shattengrod, and Xhorhas ensured the safety of Western Wynandir.

At least, that was the explanation provided to the Crown so that its representatives would stop asking annoying questions when the Cerberus Assembly took steps to understand such magics.

And now, the Assembly had provided a project far more intriguing than mutated and extraplanar monsters. A domestic threat, long tolerated because of their usefulness in eradicating fiends, undead, and fey without cost to those in power. Simple, non-magical mortals capable of using their blood to evoke enchantments. How intriguing such a weapon would be in the Assembly’s hands. How dangerous it would be in the Crown’s. How profitable it would be in the Myriad’s.

How fortuitous it would be in Tversky’s.

The operating room was too crowded, but there was no helping it. They had to work quickly in light of the unnaturally rapid onset of postmortem decay. Dozens of assistants, dressed head to toe in medical gowns, face masks, and hair nets shifted about five tables busily, like wasps tending to their queen’s commands as they prepared the dead for processing.

Tversky stood atop a floating disk and looked down at the corpse before her. She began dictating while an enchanted quill rapidly took down notes. “The date is the 17th of Cuersaar, 835 post-divergence. Subject number 21 is an adolescent human, estimated fifteen years of age, approximately five-foot-four-inches tall, weight one-hundred-fifty-one pounds, no remarkable identifying features other than numerous inch-long scars on the right palm.”

The other teams called out their confirmation of the same scars on their subjects. One of the assistants was sketching the hand and scars in case the arrangement was relevant. Another inspecting the skin raised their hand.

“Master Tversky, there are small scars on the outside of each upper leg,” the woman noted. “They resemble hyper-pigmentation spots. Same position, each approximately equidistant from the hip and knee.”

“Subjects 5, 13, 20, 29: confirm,” Tversky droned as she moved to inspect the scars herself. It would have been easy to miss if they had not matched. Within seconds, four more voices replied to confirm their subjects shared the same marks.

“Subject 20 has similar marks on upper arms, also equidistant from shoulder and elbow,” a man called from another table in the operating theater. Without instruction, another voice confirmed the same for subject 29. Tversky checked the human before her; indeed, there were two matching scars on his arms. She made a verbal note, her quill dutifully recording.

“Subject 29 also has matching marks on hips,” a woman added. No one else confirmed. This human did not have that set either. Odd. The larger subjects had more marks.

Interesting.

“Gather records of control subjects of the same race and sex for comparison,” Tversky instructed. An aid standing by made a note and disappeared out of the operating theater. “The rest of you, I expect careful dissection of each section bearing those matching scars. Continue.”

The others droned in the background as the teams shifted around their subjects and dictated their own reports. Buzzing insects hovering as they collected information.

“Subject 21 was deceased upon arrival, reportedly due to resisting arrest…” Tversky continued narrating as she inspected the wounds. Severe contusions on a right broken arm—the blow of a blunt weapon. Burns on the face, likely from some magical attack. But the lethal strike had been a large laceration across the neck, severing major arteries, destroying the windpipe, and damaging the spine in a single strike. Bounty hunters were so indelicate with her subjects. Her assistants were much more adept at pulling the subject apart to understand them.

The pungent smell of rotten meat and sharp sweetness filled the air as they began to cut. The face masks hardly blocked anything, but there was no avoiding it. The work continued rapidly, a well-choreographed dance while voices hummed, flat and on numerous registers.

Limb by limb. Organ by organ. Piece by piece.

“Master Tversky, there appears to be no alterations to the blood,” a man called from behind.

Tversky frowned and shifted her hovering platform over to the machines behind the operating table. The assistant stepped back from an apparatus with a small monoscope aimed at a blood sample held before it. She looked through the lens and was disappointed to find normal cells magnified in her view. Nothing strange about the blood. No altered structure. No unexpected developments. No arcane glow. No hint of magical taint.

That couldn’t be right. How could these cultists use blood as a component for magical enchantments if the blood itself did not carry any power? Perhaps the blood itself was not the source of the magic, but merely a conduit. Or perhaps the effect only lingered while the subjects lived. Could the act of sacrifice have meaning? There was only one school of magic that operated on such rules.

Necromancy.

To think the Assembly had allowed the Claret Orders to operate within the Empire for so long, and this was what they had been up to. The Martinet would want to hear of this. Such power could not be trusted outside the Assembly’s control.

Tversky looked back at the dissected corpses, each attended by several assistants who were carefully cataloguing their findings. A dragonborn, two humans, a gnome, and a dwarf, so it was not specific to race. These particular subjects were seen casting spells, but others were not. So far, she had categorized them into four potential groups, and they all could invoke those weapon enchantments, so that had nothing to do with their other magical capabilities.

Even more confounding: most had been carrying marks or talismans of the Raven Queen. That goddess abhorred necromancy—rather, so the clergy claimed. Could it be that perhaps these cultists were intentionally offending her? Or was it that the common understanding of her followers was subterfuge?

Perhaps those ties should be confirmed before informing the Martinet. After all, he had a habit of disproportionately weighing theories of the gods’ machinations. Tversky preferred to follow clues to their logical conclusions. At least, at first.

Tversky waved her quill over and used it to begin scribbling notes by hand. Even if the blood itself was not magically imbued, there was some significance to the spellcasting. The Orders called themselves “blood hunters” after all. She would need to test it properly to establish what sort of component it was. Perhaps infusing test subjects with the blood would yield something interesting. She rapidly wrote a note for her subordinates, which folded into a wasp and flew out the door.

What else? Those short-sighted Cobalt Soul idiots could be sitting on something useful. They were close-minded morons, but they were still adept at hoarding niche information. Tversky’s subordinates would not be able to access any of it because of the organization’s ridiculous ban. She scribbled another note to Baroness Iresor, the paper rapidly transforming and on its way. That young woman was lazy and distractable, but she had a knack for getting information that was otherwise off limits.

“We are ready to proceed, Master Tversky,” one of the aids called.

Tversky sighed. Right. Next were the bones. She returned to her position by the subject, now carved open with several assistants recording their own notes by dictation as they readied their instruments.

“Proceed, then,” Tversky instructed. The sound of snaps and cracks soon filled the air as needles and blades carved into the remains.

Those cretins had better find a live subject soon. Tversky was bored already.

[deltarune-positronsandphotons]

POSITRON PUDDLES UST DISK 1: TENNA STUDIOS SOUNDTRACK

All of the following are just names. no actual music has been made.

Kris, where the hell are we?

Set of Dust and Dunes (The semi-abandoned “Sherrif Pine” set. Acts as the starting area of the chapter)

Sherrif (what one would expect to be a theme of a recurring character. However they are immediately launched off stage by what looks to be an off-brand power ranger)

Undyne (Undyne’s overworld theme. They are the off-brand power ranger)

Rider of Justice (Undyne’s battle theme. Oh it looks like it was a kamen rider reference not power rangers.)

Into the sunset (a post battle theme after undyne accidentally gets blown away by a barrel of dynamite.)

DON’T ADJUST YOUR SET (Tenna intro theme)

Troublesome Tenna (Tenna Overworld theme)

Cathode’s Crew (The Shadowmen’s theme)

Obvioustrap.oog (a stinger that plays when Susie falls for an obvious moss-based trap)

Getting Back Up (Toriel’s theme. Because after you have fallen down, you have to get back up.)

Green room (… Listen what do you expect me to say its GREEN ROOM we ALL know what green room is)

Sheen’s Shop (a shop theme for the green room shop run by a familiar dinosaur)

Tenna Studios Plaza (the “hub world” of this chapter. A spire of wood and metal is in the distance, surrounding the dark fountain. You are filled with the power of family and fluffy boys.)

Mountain King Overture (A rearrangement of “in the hall of the mountain king” that plays in the first part of the “Mountain King” Set. Similar in tone to bergentrükung)

YOUR HOST, GRENDEL GNOMOID (The overworld theme for the main antagonist of the “Mountain King” set: A deranged game show host who is an old garden gnome that Asgore left behind by accident.)

Set of Gardens and Games (Another rearrangement of “In the hall of the Mountain King”, but more upbeat and similar in tone to “It’s Showtime”)

SUSIEZILLA (after being shrunk down by magic liquid, you face off against Susie, who was just told this was a monster movie set)

We used to have a stealth section, but it sucked so here are minigames (A sped up 8-bit version of “Sneaking” that plays in what was very clearly meant to be a stealth section that is now an arcade where each minigame you beat gives part of a key that opens the door to the next room)

THEY OPENED THE DOOR, KNOCK THEIR SOCKS OFF BOYS! (A chase variant of Cathode’s Crew that plays after you unlock the arcade door and run to the next section)

HeroesReunited.oog (A quick jingle that plays after you finally meet back up with susie.)

SPIN THAT WHEEL (you are given a chance to win, and that chance is spinning that wheel)

SetComplete.oog (a jingle that plays when you beat a set)

Green Room Movement (So the green room acts like the willy Wonka elevator, did I mention that?)

Set of Sales and Shadows (the theme of the shopping network set, where the gimmick is there is no gimmick)

Cornered! (the theme that plays when the Cathode crew attacks during the end section of the shopping network set)

A Grim Grinning Ghoul (Kreepy’s Introduction theme. After beating two of the sets, if you have the shadow crystals from Jevil and Spamton, You can see them standing behind a rusted gate)

Set of Cosmos and Calamity (The theme of the space set, which you must go through with Susie. Keep the audience happy.)

Cosmic Commander Roulx (Oh shit he’s back. he’s gonna be in every chapter, isn’t he?)

INTRUDER ALERT (Plays when the Cathode Crew board the ship)

Set of Baking and Brutality (the theme of the cooking set, which forces you to bring along toriel. Hope they like snail pie)

Well, there’s your problem: too many snails! (plays when the Cathode crew somehow gets the snails to revolt)

Crew Crusher (the slowed down rude buster, plays when you FINALLY actually fight the Cathode Crew)

GRAB AND DASH, BOYS! (a VERY sped up rude buster that plays when Toriel gets kidnapped after beating the final set.)

Mansionkeyget.oog (a jingle that sounds similar to the Kirby 1-up jingle that plays when you obtain the mansion key the Cathode Crew dropped when kidnapping Toriel. They only seem to drop it if you have encountered Kreepy before.)

Off the Beaten path (a distant sounding version of Tenna Studios Plaza. Plays on the path towards the House of Happy Haunts.)

It’ll Come right back to Ya! (the “overworld theme” of Kreepy K. Rawly. You never exactly see them unobscured until the fight however)

House of Happy Haunts (A song that one would expect to play in a funhouse. While upbeat, something about it just sounds… off. It uses the Dialtone/circus motif)

Mirror Mania (A chase theme that plays in the Hall of Mirrors when a distorted reflection chases you)

The one who pulls the strings makes It ring (the song that plays just before Kreepy’s fight when you accidentally destroy the shadow mantle)

HAUNTED BY YOUR PAST (Kreepy K. Rawley’s battle theme. Has a variant that plays whenever TAL is on the field)

Exorcised by your future (Kreepy K. Rawley’s post fight theme.)

Tenna Towers (The castle theme of the chapter)

Tenna Talk {starring tenna} (a talk show section)

THE RIDER OF JUSTICE RIDES AGAIN! (a pre-undyne rematch theme)

BUT WITH A GUN THIS TIME! (Undyne rematch theme)

Should have been more careful with that thing (Didn’t she know she could shoot an eye out with that?)

Freedom Fountain (An ambient theme that plays right before Tenna’s final fight)

FRIDAY NIGHT DEATH SLOT (The Chaos King/attack of the killer queen equivalent)

Fade to Light (the theme that plays when everybody wakes up)

My Funky Town (it’s My Funky Town.)

Crystal Corner (Where all the secret bosses hang out after you beat/spare them!)

A Weird Deal (Do you really want to take it? Only plays if you have done snowgrave in the same save file)

Chap4Weirdrouteunlock.oog (…You took the deal. You monster.)

The edge is getting thinner (The end chapter theme. Credits do not roll after this chapter).

[window-to-the-void]

You asked for more questions I give you more questions

I decided I want to install kde but how can I make it so that my laptop can dual boot windows (I need it for school stuff) and Linux

Also the laptop sucks ass so I'm wondering if it could perform better with Linux installed

it probably will! kde certainly isn’t the lightest desktop environment but it still should be quite a bit faster than windows.

if it ends up feeling kinda slow, you could also try a lighter weight de such as xfce or lxqt.

for instance, fedora also has spins with these desktop environments. if you install one and decide you want to switch, you don’t actually have to reinstall! you do have to run a few (1-2) terminal commands but it’s not that hard, i promise:

i should probably warn you though: linux battery life isn’t the best compared to windows (although it heavily depends on your specific hardware). so dual booting on a laptop is probably a smart idea lol

as for how you dual boot, the general idea is this:

in windows, open disk manager

assuming you just have one hard drive in your system, right click on the C: partition press "Shrink Volume" (i'd say to free at least 50 GB, but you will probably want more space if you end up using linux a lot)

when installing, fedora should automatically detect the free disk space and install there

for a more detailed guide, see this article.

also, since you're installing it on a laptop, i'd recommend enabling full disk encryption. in the fedora installer there is a checkbox for it under "Installation Destination".

feel free to ask more questions if you have any!

also to reiterate, if you have any important data on your windows install i'd highly recommend backing it up before messing with partitions like this. as long as you're careful there's very little risk of loosing data, but it's always better to be safe!

edit: i forgot to mention, make sure you enable 3rd party repos in the fedora setup thingy (it shows it after install on first boot). a lot of apps aren't in the main fedora repos but the 3rd party ones have pretty much everything :3

[dndwithaerin]

Part 9 - A Fair to Remember

Over a month had passed.  The school semester drawing to a close, ushering in the Midsommar Festival.  A week of rest and relaxation to signify the halfway point of the calendar year, ushered in by a day of revelry, Midsommar’s Fair.  A day for the nobility of Balouise to revel in their wealth, to enjoy food, games, rides, but most importantly, to see and be seen.  Capped off in the evening by the illustrious Senator’s Ball, to which our heroines had received invitations, owing to their respective lineages.

The Tenser clan arrived, Orlaith in tow, to the fair in a veritable parade of carriages, each levitating on its own spectral disk, providing as smooth a ride as possible.  The Lord Ernest Tenser VIII emerged first, hand in hand with the Lady Carol, no doubt eager to once again make an attempt at the grand game of politics.  In the second carriage, Ernest IX and his lovely wife, Cynthia, still very pregnant, garbed in blacks and reds of the finest fabrics, hardly suiting the warm summer’s day, but appearing cool and collected, nonetheless.  

And from the final car stepped forth the young ladies Laura Tenser, characteristically poised and proper, and Orlaith El, rather uncharacteristically put together, having been insisted upon by Yuri that her normal ill-fitting robes and unkempt dark hair may be ill-suited to the occasion.  Both garbed in light, airy, summer dresses, they stepped forth from the carriage, into the warm summer morning.

Arriving together, yet immediately separating, the girls found their attention drawn to the midway, games of skill promising prizes both mundane and magical, grandest among them, a tabard of purple and gold, revealing to the trained eye a magical aura, fetching the price of fifty prize tokens.  Laura’s goal was set.  She needn’t know the nature of the magic, only that it was, and that she would very much like to study it.

The first game the pair took to was simple, target shooting with air rifles, with which Laura found herself quite the natural, collecting a handful of prize tokens before she heard a familiar voice calling out to her from across the way.  Sean had been conspicuous in his recent absences from school, returning only just in time to take his final exams, and it was apparent in in his appearance that at the very least he had not been sleeping well.  There was some urgency in his voice as he ushered the two off to the side, between two of the stalls.

He first explained he would be playing a show that evening accompanied by David Dinkleberg, which was a shock in itself as Laura had heard no shortage of Sean’s gripes concerning the gnome.  To hear him speak on it, they could never see eye to eye on anything, so the concept of the two cooperating was incredibly unusual.  But more importantly, there was a matter he wanted their assistance with afterward.  Details were sparse, only that Laura and Orlaith were to meet him at the gates of the city at ten o’clock that evening.  The only grain of information Sean offered, was a mysterious piece of bark he asked Laura to examine.  Not much was to be gleaned, however.  It was definitely magical, containing some sort of healing property, but nothing of where it came from, or how it had come in to Sean’s possession.

Nevertheless, the girls required no convincing to help their friend, only hoping that they would be able to get away from their own engagement in time.

Having exhausted the patience of the operator of the target shooting booth, Laura and Orlaith moved on, choosing to take a break from games, and directed their attention toward the rides.  They had just disembarked from a delightful miniature train ride, full of twists and turns at high speed.  Struggling to reorient herself following the dizzying experience, Laura clumsily stumbled into an unaware patron.

Little did she know, she had bumped into a familiar face, at least to Orlaith.  Marisa Ansling, investigative reporter for the LeStrand Herald, notorious gossipmonger, and all-around busybody.  Despite their sudden, percussive introduction, she seemed absolutely delighted to meet the one and only Laura Tenser, as she had only managed to receive comment from Orlaith following their now infamous duel.

Ansling was enthusiastic in her questioning, delighted to finally meet another member of the team that had bested Tomas Straid, though she failed to notice the deathly shadows looming behind her.  Not so subtly clearing his throat, the realization that Straid himself was directly behind her nearly sent Ansling in to shock, all but leaping to take cover behind Orlaith.  Accompanying Tom was the elder Straid, Degratia.  As Tom bared his fangs, insisting emphatically that the result had been a fluke, a firm hand fell on his shoulder.

The elder Straid snapped at the metaphorical leash he held over his progeny, and Tom yielded nearly instantly, cutting his words short and recoiling.  Degratia was quick to apologize for his son’s outburst, hoping for it not to be seen as a slight against Houses Tenser or El, and expressing his own pleasure in meeting the two that had knocked Tom down a peg.  The pleasantries were quick, and it was only as they left that Tom spoke once more, requesting a rematch, this time one-on-one with whomever was willing.  Both Laura and Orlaith were happy to accept.  Having received a glimpse into the life of Tom Straid, Laura wished him farewell with a remark of sympathy that seemed to catch him off guard.

“Don’t sweat it, I know what it’s like to be under your father’s thumb.”

A few games and a few prize tokens later, the duo found themselves famished. The options for food seemed endless, skewers of roast potatoes, sausage sandwiches, fried pastries and sweets.  One stall in particular caught Laura’s attention, owing mostly to the unorthodox name of its offering, “Bloodmeat.”  A meat pie of sorts, within contained thin slices of bloody rare lamb.  Surprisingly, quite enjoyable, delicious in fact!  

While stopped to enjoy their lunch, Laura and Orlaith spotted another familiar face through the crowd, a feat given his small stature.  David Dinkleberg, Sean’s gnomish gnemesis.  They learned from David that he and Sean would indeed be performing that night, though the key detail Sean had either left out or was ignorant of himself, was that they would be playing for the Senator’s Ball!  A truly massive opportunity for the both of them, to be sure, as they’d play in front of the most important people the city had to offer.  Knowing that, the girls wished him all the best, hoping Sean and David would be able to cooperate.

A couple more hours and many, many games later, Laura finally caught sight of the one man she had had her eye out for all day.  Will Mercier.  Catching only a glimpse of him as he effortlessly weaved through the crowd, she gave chase immediately, leaving Orlaith to collect the last of their tokens from a dart throwing game.

Laura finally caught up to him, coming to a stop near a shaded table behind many of the stalls.  There he was conversing with Cynthia, his sister and Laura’s sister-in-law, and another girl, to whom Laura had not yet been acquainted.  She approached the table with a slight wariness, though was greeted with warmth and enthusiasm by Cynthia.  The younger looking girl was introduced as Cohen, daughter of the Mercier clan, and a savant in the world of banking and money management.

But Laura was not there to speak with them, nor to make new friends.  The wedding loomed large in her mind, and she was seeking Will for a potential way out.  He ushered her in to an ornate door, very out of place against the makeshift wall on the rear of a carnival stall.  Through the door, no sound from outside could be heard.  The space within lavish, with fine furnishings and dim lighting, as though they had stepped in to another world, far away from the amusements.

Laura attempted to get directly to the point.  She wanted out, and she wanted to know if Will had any suggestions that may help achieve that goal, to which she was pressed on questions of her own conviction.  What did she wish to achieve in calling off the wedding that she could not otherwise?  What would she do with her life, if it were wholly her own?  And also, if her decision had been swayed by knowledge of the spell, Gate?  Though she did not betray her source of information on that matter.  

Laura’s goals were as they always were.  She wished to become a wizard spoken of in legends, in tales of renown for generations to come, and unfortunately, should she be wed, the only future she saw for herself was to fade to obscurity, a general’s wife, a footnote.

There was a potential solution, though it would come at a great cost, and would require a greater amount of consideration.  Will began with a tale.  A tale of creatures spoken of only in fables and church tales.  Creatures that once roamed the land freely, so they say, free to hunt and feed as they pleased.  Creatures allegedly exterminated by the legendary Saint Albain.

His offer to her was power.  His power.  The power of his blood.  He offered her the embrace, to become like him.  To become… a vampire.

As he would explain, the Mercier clan were not related by blood, at least, not in the traditional sense.  The blood they shared was of a more supernatural sort, passed from sire to childe, along with great power.  Her brother had become one of them as well, finally putting to words the “affliction” of which Will himself had spoken, though his embrace was imperfect, done in haste only after they had learned of Cynthia's pregnancy, not sanctioned by the elder Mercier.  A matter for another time though.  Hers would be done entirely above board, should she so choose.

He proceeded to demonstrate the powers afforded by the potency of his blood.  Setting his sunglasses on the table, revealing his crimson red eyes for the first time, the gleam mesmerizing her, a stronger force than any enchantment Laura had encountered thus far.  With a simple phrase, “Would you please” his commands became irresistible.  Laura found herself compelled to rise from her chair, walk calmly around to the other side of the table, and allow Will to place a cold hand on her neck, caressing the arteries.  If he wanted to feed from her, she was in no position to refuse.

Laura was unnerved, but not fearful, as Will’s words up to then had not lead her to believe he meant her harm.  His grip loosened and he allowed her to return to her seat, assuring her she was never in any danger.  She trusted him, for better or worse.  It was a decision that could not be made lightly.  One that could not be taken back.  And one that not even he could guarantee would achieve the desired result, but maybe offered a better chance than anything else.

Will did not expect an answer immediately, nor was Laura prepared to give one, assuring she would explore all other available options before accepting his offer.  With her newfound knowledge, she made her way out of the room, Will ushering in his “sisters” as she left.

Orlaith had been making small talk with the girls, and once Laura emerged, was glad to tell her she had obtained the final prize token.  The magic tabard was theirs, but there were much greater matters on Laura’s mind.  Matters of grave importance.

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[bjsmall]

08.10.24

I downloaded Linux Mint 22 with the 'MATE' Desktop today.

https://www.linuxmint.com/download.php

Using Linux Mint Cinnamon's built in USB writer, I wrote the ISO file to my 16 GB USB stick. The file size is 2.8 Giga-bytes for MATE.

Once this had completed, I then restarted the computer and from the boot screen, selected 'Start Linux Mint 22 MATE.'

The laptop booted into the live USB environment of Mint, where I could play around with it and at a later time chose to install it onto one of the hard disk partitions.

Linux Mint 22 MATE like the Cinnamon and XFCE desktop choices is based on Ubuntu 24.04, and features the MATE desktop 1.28 (2024).

https://mate-desktop.org/

MATE is based on the classic Gnome 2 codebase which was a very stable and popular desktop environment between 1997 to 2011.

The screenshot shows how the panels can be re-arranged to match the 'traditional' Gnome 2 layout seen on Ubuntu and other Linux desktops. XViewer is the default image viewer on all Mint desktops.

The operating system also comes with a selection of modern and classic colourful themes.

Underneath is a screen capture of Linux Mint 7 featuring GNOME 2, which was released in 2009!

I will install it alongside Linux Mint 22 Cinnamon and Ubuntu 24.04!

[frogsandfries]

Never go to bed at five in the evening

After days of treating my body poorly in pursuit of a hyperfixation, I went to bed at two, got up around six in the morning, went out with my sister while she did a thing for work, and about five pm, we got home, I zoned out for a while and then just gave up and went to sleep.

Around eleven, I guess my sister was going to bed, so my cats had to wake me up. I needed my inhaler and a snack, and then at that point, I was awake anyway. I'd slept for about six hours, so I could stand to be awake for a few hours.

I got pissed off because I fucked up my pumpkins AGAIN. So I finally tore that cord off my disk and wrapped it up and put it away for later. But then I also needed my other disk, because this one needs some touching up (probably a few more coats of mod podge), so I dumped all the neon strings for my neon plaid hollow cord. Of course now, before I can cut the rainbow/cloud strings or the gnome strings, I have to get this pile of string off my desk. I'm going to put away my neon plaid cords as well.

Then, I also want to try out this normal friendship bracelet pattern. That's the one, I'm going to dump out all my embroidery floss and pick with my eyes closed. It's probably masochistic to choose such a large pattern to work from for starters, but if it's not so difficult, it makes me cry, where's the real fun?

Then, someone posted a Strawberry Shortcake character tapestry. How am I supposed to resist? It's fine. What I really have to do is get my stupid printer working again and just print all these patterns--the kumihimos, the bead plushies, and the friendship bracelets. I'm always rather paranoid about these sites going away--I've seen it happen before.

I've also been pondering making duplicates of things; one to keep and maybe one or two to sell, if I have enough materials. It would be great to just get a pile of things going to sell. I kind of wish I'd focused on having a pile of stuff to sell sooner; I could've tried to find some local craft fairs for Christmas.

Since YouTube kicked me out on my laptop, I saw this one kind of genius video about using spilled poured paint to make necklace pendants and I thought that was rather genius, especially when I could pair it with the kumihimo cords. A fringe of like, stone beads on jump rings along the bottom edge of a friendship bracelet; a scalloped edge on a friendship bracelet. Charms or those Pandora style beads to put on one's kumihimo cord or bracelet. Kumihimo wrap bracelets.