#audio-neutral-informative

[markpine]

The Biden administration has been trying to choke off use of hacking tools made by the Israeli firm NSO. It turns out that not every part of the government has gotten the message.

[galleryyuhself]

Galleryyuhself - Preach the gospel

[akpaleyreblogs]

Since we’ve had some conversations about AI here, I wanted to link this episode of the Ezra Klein Show. It’s not about AI art specifically, but it does a very good job explaining what AI as it currently exists is and does, and it also discusses the philosophical idea of bullshit (not to be confused with the colloquial idea of bullshit) which describes really well the non-economic thing I worry about most when I think about AI. Really good language for discussing things, and Ezra asks a lot of the questions I would want to ask but in a much more cogent way than I ever would. Great episode, well worth an hour if podcasts do it for you. Also not really about the AI art stuff so much as relevant to it, so it’s accessible whether you’re highly engaged with that or you’re like me and getting burnt out a bit on that one.

[viwritingtime]

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ GOOD EVENING BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE

・┆✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ┆・

My asks are open and ready for requests!

As a reminder, here is my carrd with some information about what I write (please don't be afraid to throw something out there that isn't listed, I am part of a lot of different spaces).

・┆✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ┆・

[minminbunny]

Writer AU - Kim Seungmin/Gender Neutral! Reader

💕Drabble Masterlist

❤️Ultimate Masterlist

"What are you reading?" Seungmin asked, resting his chin against your head. You flinched, forcing his jaw to snap upward, "Fuck! Are are you okay?" you asked, cupping his face. Seungmin winced, "I'm okay, baby. I'm okay," he whispered, smirking at your concern. You sighed in relief and pinched his cheek, "Why did you sneak up on me?" you asked, tugging his plump flesh. "Hah, ack! I was just curious," he whimpered, gently removing your hand. You glared at him, "Out. I'm not answering your curiosity," you said, switching the tab until he leaves. Seungmin wrapped his arms around your shoulder, "But baby. Oh my sweet sweet baby. What are you hiding from me, hm?" he whispered, kissing your ear. You gulped, turning away, "Nothing, it's me time and you have no rig-," you said when Seungmin removed your headphones and wore it.

Your eyes widen, "Wait!" you exclaimed, trying to grab them back but it was too late. The smirk on Seungmin's lips etched wider. He removed the headphones and stared down at you, "Dirty baby. Who would've known you've been listening to moans and whimpers, hm?" Seungmin teased, loving the way your face heat up. You snatched your headphones back, "It's for research," you grumbled, muting the audio. Seungmin wrapped his arms back around your shoulder albeit tighter, "Research, yeah?" he asked, slowly uncovering the secrets you kept long hidden. You removed his arms and turned around, "Kim Seungmin. If you're going to pry information out of me like this. You're breaking my trust," you said, not wanting your first healthy relationship to go down because you wrote fan fiction.

Seungmin pulled away, realizing the weight of the situation, "Baby, you know I wouldn't judge you for anything right? I keep those words to heart," he said, before noticing your solemn silence. "Even if you're an adult content creator or maybe you do those audio things for pleasure. I don't judge you. I never will," Seungmin reassured, kissing your palms. You sighed deeply and held his hands. He smiled at your soft gesture, "Now, why don't you let me have a little peek?" Seungmin asked, curiosity still ingrained in his mind. You rolled your eyes, biting back a subtle smile as you switched back the tab. Seungmin read the head title, "Midas's Touch," he murmured, reading the content below. His breath got caught the more you scrolled. His eyes widened at the sheer flith and arousal your words managed to spurred him on.

"Baby," Seungmin whispered, licking his dry lips as his mouth dried up while reading. You reluctantly, tilted your head upwards, "Yes?" you whispered, fearing the worst. Seungmin chuckled, "That. We're doing that right now," he said, staring down at you. "What?!" you exclaimed, your heart beating within your ears. A familiar predatory smirk etched his lips, "Everything you wrote, baby. Let me fuck your fantasies to life," he said, lifting you out of your chair and onto the bed. "I'm sorry in advance if you can't walk tomorrow, darling. Although, you don't have to worry because your beloved boyfriend will take care of everything," Seungmin said, towering over you as he unbuckled his belt.

*how long more does it take before i can enter your heart

[roseofthewind]

Furina and High-Masking Autism

A lot of people don’t know how to recognize high-masking autism because its presentation challenges many stereotypes about what autistic people are like, but Furina continues to be a perfect example of it.

It should go without saying, but I love Furina as a character and this analysis is in no way putting her down. Autism is an entirely neutral trait that carries through to adulthood, and if you have a strong negative reaction to the idea of a character you like being autistic, you have probably absorbed a lot of misconceptions about autism and have some unconscious prejudice to unpack.

In the paragraphs that follow, I am going to explain several autistic traits and give examples of how Furina displays each trait.

*thinking face on*

1. Autism is, at its core, a difference in the way the brain takes in, processes, and shares information. This can make it challenging to communicate with other people who don’t share this neurotype, but a high-masking autistic person has observed the way other people interact and spent years copying them, figuring out through trial and error how to act to best fit in and get the most positive responses from other people.

Furina’s ascension speech in Act V of the Fontaine Archon Quest, where she first presents herself to the people of Fontaine, is a great example of this observation of others with the goal of masking as well as possible. Furina initially gives the speech as comes naturally to her in a very straightforward and honest manner (also an autistic trait!). After the speech, she realizes that her citizens are responding with hostility to her humility and lack of authoritarianism, so she then plays off the original speech as a ruse and immediately redoes the entire thing more assertively according to the feedback she picked up on.

(Calm down, Furina… Think. Think. What do the people want? How would they imagine a god to speak and act?)

Fontaine AQ Act V, Chinese audio: (link starts video at 3:10:07) https://youtu.be/T-AbXi5bufk?si=eQADAWw6n8Sk0PZE&t=11407

This is the kind of social trial and error that many autistic people do over the course of years so that eventually we can say the “right thing” the first time around, and it’s a testimony to Furina’s skills as an actor that she course-corrects so quickly.

Because of all the constant mental calculations, social situations are usually very tiring for autistic people, even when the social event lines up with their interests. In Clorinde’s Story Quest, Furina has no interest in Navia’s suggestion of pulling an all-nighter to keep playing D&D (I mean, Tabletop Troupe!) and wants to go home and rest.

Furina: Huh!? Oh, um… I’m not sure I’ll have enough energy for that…

Furina has shown other signs of needing to take a break from socializing– for instance, in Lynette’s hangout event quest, Lynette gets tired of all the people at her post-performance reception and goes upstairs to a quieter room to find Furina already there.

Furina offers to give Lynette tips on the best ways to slip away from an event, and Lynette misunderstands at first and isn’t interested in Furina’s advice because she thinks Furina loves everything about the spotlight and doesn’t realize how much they have in common. This goes a long way to show just how well Furina masks her autistic traits!

Furina: I see you’ve escaped the crowds to seek refuge on the second floor. Fame can be overwhelming at first, can’t it? Perhaps you’d benefit from hearing about the experiences of a veteran celebrity such as myself?

Lynette: No thanks, I’m good. Pretty sure this’ll be my first and last time in this situation…

Furina: Hey, at least let me finish! I have top tips on dealing with belligerent reporters, slipping away to hunt down snacks during the intermission…

Lynette: …Tell me everything.

Conversely, when alone, Furina will stay up late reading or doing something else that interests her and will not feel the same need to stop and rest, because when alone, there is no need to expend extra energy worrying about socializing properly.

At the beginning of the Fontinalia Film Festival limited event story, Traveler and Paimon go to Furina’s apartment and she answers the door sounding a bit groggy.

Paimon: Did you just get up, Furina? It’s already past noon, you know…

After Traveler chastises Paimon for being rude, Paimon panics and says something nonsensical about how the weather is so nice in the afternoon and sleeping in is fine, actually, and Furina responds that she’s just a bit tired because she was up late reading:

Furina: I was just up late last night reading some novels…

When focused on an interest, it’s very easy for an autistic person to lose track of time and it can be difficult to break out of the focused state and go to bed. (This is a trait that overlaps significantly with ADHD.)

2. Alexithymia is a difficulty with identifying, processing, and expressing your own emotions, and in extreme cases presents as an almost total lack of emotion. Some degree of alexithymia is common in autistic people.

I believe, in the flashback scene below from Act V of the Fontaine Archon Quest, that Furina genuinely did not realize she was upset and did not realize she was crying, which could be explained by alexithymia.

Fontainian citizen: Are… are you crying?

(If you played this part with the English voice acting and interpreted it differently, try listening to it in Chinese- Furina’s voice sounds completely confident and in control the entire time, and it’s not until the other person points out she’s crying that Furina sounds at all upset.)

Fontaine AQ Act V, Chinese audio: (link starts video at 3:22:00) https://youtu.be/T-AbXi5bufk?si=fl8xSwkQ0rRLFPQU&t=12121

I am a believer that Furina and Focalors were originally the same person, and Focalors is just Furina’s divinity and pre-archonhood memories— so if Furina is autistic, Focalors is autistic.

While talking to Neuvillette, Focalors is extremely matter-of-fact with her explanation of her plan, very matter-of-fact about the suffering of her own human self, and very matter-of-fact about her own impending death. There is no show of emotion— she just tells Neuvillette the facts. This could be related to alexithymia, but regardless it is a very autistic way of communicating that is often misinterpreted as cold and uncaring. In actuality, someone who is willing to sacrifice their own immortality, divine power, and freedom to save other people’s lives cares a great deal, even if the tone of their voice doesn’t reflect it!

Focalors: I mean, did you think I would be the sort to enjoy peaceful repose while Furina suffered?

3. The autistic nervous system takes in a lot of information that a neurotypical person’s would filter out as not being important enough to bother with- this is why autistic people are so much more sensitive to sounds, lights, textures, and any changes in the environment. Too much sensory input can actually feel painful.

There is a documented instance of the Opera Epiclese becoming so loud that Furina was overstimulated enough to yell at everyone to be quiet.

Furthermore, post-Archon Quest, after moving out of the Palais Mermonia and into her own apartment, Furina eats primarily macaroni for an unspecified amount of time— weeks or months on end. After a huge life change, it’s common for an autistic person to want anything they can control to be the same, so their brain has more space to process everything that’s different.

There is no neurotypical explanation for eating the same food over and over to the exclusion of everything else. It makes no sense to someone who doesn’t experience overstimulation and distress at too much change. Case in point, during Furina’s Story Quest, Traveler and Paimon are rather baffled:

Traveler: …Don’t you get sick of macaroni every day?

Furina: Not at all. As long as you have different kinds of sauces in, you can have macaroni and tomato sauce one week, macaroni and bolognese the next…

Notice that Furina says “macaroni and tomato sauce one week,” implying that she’s fine with just that sauce for an entire week, and then uses a different sauce for the next entire week. Still not very much variety!

Paimon: Oh, sounds like you’re really struggling to cope… Traveler: Is it because you have to do all your own cooking now?

Yes, Furina is struggling to cope, but not because she’s incapable of learning how to cook more complex dishes! She’s just too burnt out to want to make or eat a variety of things right now. Furina explains this and Paimon doesn’t believe her, but since we know that Furina’s special dish is an even more extravagant version of La Lettre a Focalors, if Furina is capable of baking at that level, she would certainly be capable of cooking.

4. Stimming, or self-stimulatory behaviors, are repetitive actions that serve to regulate or soothe the nervous system. There are countless behaviors that can be used as stims, but some common ones are rocking back and forth, hand flapping or waving, leg bouncing, skin picking or scratching, rubbing or squeezing a comforting object, dancing, spinning in circles, humming or vocalizing, or listening to the same song on repeat for hours. (It’s worth noting that stimming is not exclusive to autism— especially when stressed neurotypical people do some of these things too. Stimming can also be commonly exhibited by people with ADHD who aren’t autistic, although there are also a significant number of people with both ADHD and autism.)

One of Furina’s idle animations and also her normal attack sequence include behaviors that can be interpreted as stimming. Furina’s idle animation with Surintendante Chevalmarin involves her holding the seahorse up, waving her around, squeezing her tightly and rubbing her face on her head. Chevalmarin is made entirely of water and loves Furina dearly, and so does not mind being cuddled like a stuffed animal.

If you use all four of Furina’s normal attacks, she spins around several times and the final attack culminates with her spinning on a bubble and swinging her sword for AOE. If you use just three of Furina’s normal attacks and do not append any additional actions, Furina spins around again before plunging the tip of her sword into the ground (I do not have a gif of this). Furina also spins around when added to your 4-character party. That’s a lot of spinning, which certainly makes it seem like a preferred stim!

5. I got this far without mentioning special interests because I have so much other evidence that I hardly need to bring it up— but since it’s a much more commonly recognized autistic trait than many of the things I discussed at the beginning, I will include this part of Furina’s teapot dialogue, which does indicate that Furina engages in special interests:

Furina pretty much defines “special interest” with the above statement: it’s something that you’re interested in (to the point that it may feel like an obsession) and you have to know everything about it!

These are just a few examples of autistic traits that Furina exhibits— there are absolutely more. Furina is shown many times to have a high level of near constant anxiety despite being someone who is confident enough to perform on stage. This anxiety could come from other sources, like c-PTSD, but it’s very common for a high-masking autistic person to have chronic anxiety from being hyper-aware of avoiding potential social blunders, repressing stimming to appear more “normal,” and dealing with the increased risk of overstimulation that comes with repressing stimming.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! Even if you don’t agree with my interpretation of the character, I do genuinely hope you learned something about autism.

[otomehonyaku]

Diabolik Lovers More,More Blood Vol. 12 Ruki ☽ 7Net/Stellaworth Tokuten CD ☽ Monopolising Her

Original title: 彼が貴女を独り占めするCD Voiced by Sakurai Takahiro English translation by @otomehonyaku Click here for the audio (kindly provided by @karleksmumskladdkaka!)

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Please do not reuse or post my translations elsewhere or translate my work into other languages without my permission.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

I took a little break from translating this past week but I'm back at it again ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡ Thank you to @otomeheroines for suggesting this tokuten to me! It was pretty cute and now I know the Japanese words for stuff like 'chlorine' and 'limescale' lol

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

00:00 Hey. I’m coming in. You still aren’t ready? If we don’t start soon, we won't be done in time. Hurry up.

[You’re surprised.]

I’m shocked. Don’t you know what day it is today? I told you well in advance. It’s our once-in-a-month big cleaning day. Though I assume you could tell by the mop and dust cloth I’m holding. You sure are thickheaded. Anyway, I bought a new mop. Our previous one was getting pretty old, and I got this one on sale for quite the bargain.

[Ruki shows you the mop.]

It’s pretty suitable, don’t you think?

[You mope a little.]

What’s that? I can’t hear you. Alright, well, you know the plan now. Hurry up with your preparations and follow me. I left Yuma and the others in charge of the groceries. The two of us will do the cleaning.

[You feel that it’s a daunting task.]

It’s not that big of a deal, is it? It’ll be alright if we do it together. Well then, let’s start with the kitchen.

01:22 [Ruki is scrubbing something.]

Great, the grease is coming off quite nicely.  I’ll take care of the ventilation fan, you do the sink.

[The two of you clean side by side.]

You’re a dimwit most of the time, but you do come in handy with simple tasks like this. I don’t even have to order you around. I see no harm in you lending me a hand, I’ll give you that.

[You ask him whether you still have enough cleaning supplies.]

Yeah, I restocked the citric acid and baking soda.  They’re on the bottom shelf, so use whatever you need. Just make sure to ventilate the room when you use chlorine detergent. And don’t forget to use latex gloves, too.

[You make a face.]

What’s that face for? You look like you have something to say.

[You tell him he’s a professional.]

That’s all?  Those are the absolute basics when it comes to cleaning. I’m not asking for your praise. But… you could say I’ve got the fundamentals down. Citric acid works well against limescale. Baking soda is good against grease stains. And neutral detergent is good for a lot of things, too. Chlorine, however, could react with other products and release toxic gases.  So you should avoid it coming in contact with acidic liquids at all costs. You would think this is just common sense.

[You’re getting frustrated.]

02:50 Stop complaining so much. I don’t remember the first time I heard these things, but I learned a lot about cleaning from a women’s magazine.  It had an article on year-end cleaning.

[You ask him why he would read a women’s magazine.]

Don’t misunderstand. I ran out of books to read, so I ended up getting it for the sake of it. I was desperate for just about any printed text. But come to think of now, it was pretty informative. It’s not so bad to learn things you can apply directly in your daily life. Besides, the magazine was a worthwhile read.  The articles it had on making dishes out of leftover vegetables were interesting as well.

[You tell him he reminds you of a housewife.]

03:30 Watch your mouth when you speak to your master. What about me makes you think of a housewife?

[You tell him you meant it as a compliment.]

Heh. And that would be a compliment how, exactly? Explain it in a way that satisfies me.

[You tell him his future wife must be happy that Ruki is so good at housework.]

Oh… you are so naive. Where did you get that idea from? That if I got married, my wife would be the happiest on the planet? You’re thinking in extremes. Let’s say that I would become someone’s husband.  If I did all the housework, that would certainly make my wife’s life much easier. But then again, that’s not all there is to happiness, is there? If my wife simply left all of the housework to me, she would spiral into depravity herself. She wouldn’t be able to live without me. Then again, there’s a certain charm in keeping a pet beyond its useful life (1), but unfortunately, I refuse to take someone like that as my wife.

[You wonder whether that statement includes you.]

Well, no, that’s out of the question. I don’t think you’re that dependent on me. We divide the housework equally and we both benefit from it. That’s not bad, is it?

04:55 Why are we even talking about this? Leave the talk about our futures for now. Come on, let’s put those hands to work again.

[You continue cleaning.]

[To himself] Good grief, that was uncalled for. But a future with her… If I’d be permitted to share my life with her, and the two of us could support one another, that would not be so bad either.

[You ask him what he was saying.]

No, it’s nothing–don’t mention it (2). After I finish the ventilation fan, I’ll get to work cleaning the bathroom. You do the living room. Let’s get this done before the others come home.

05:42 The bathroom is all done. How’s it going here?

[You tell him it’s going well, but…]

Hey, what are you doing on that ladder?

[You tell him you’re cleaning the shelves.]

Right, I can see that you’re wiping off the shelves, but that’s not what I mean.  I’m asking you what on Earth you think you’re doing. Knowing you, it’s no question that you’ll slip and fall from such a height. I’ve told you before to refrain from these kinds of things. Hurry up and get down from there.

[You quickly climb down.]

Wait, slowly! Haste will only–

[Lo and behold, you fall off the ladder. Ruki swoops in and catches you.]

Gosh, I didn’t think you would be that predictable. You actually fell. Or was this just a ploy for me to come save you?

[You apologise.]

Don’t just apologise. Learn from your mistakes, at least. Leave it. I’ll do it.

[Your face falls.]

If you’re going to pout, you should have just behaved in the first place. It would be a terrible misunderstanding if you thought I was angry. I know full well what a dimwit you are. You can’t anger me so easily. If you got hurt and I would have to take care of you, though, I would have even more on my plate. For example, if you broke a bone, that would make it difficult to move when I feed on you. Just keep that in mind. Next time, I’ll let you know if I need your help.

07:20 Why are you smiling like that? It’s creeping me out.

[You tell Ruki that he’s kind.]

Huh. You must be completely infatuated if you take those words for kindness. Though I was aware of that already, of course. If you can still move, go and sweep the hallway.  I’ll make tea when we’re done. I made an apple pie this morning, so we can have some of that, too.

[You’re excited.]

You shameful creature. To let yourself be lured in by food like that... You have to put in the work first, got it?

08:07 Looks like we finished right on time. Azusa contacted me and said they've just finished grocery shopping, too. The three of them must be pretty exhausted right about now. There were quite a lot of items on the shopping list I gave them. It had a month’s worth of daily necessities on it. Body soap, kitchen paper, laundry detergent, things like that. You can save quite a lot of money if you shop during the sales at the end of the month. Did you think I’d miss out on that? Well, it seems we’ve taken care of most of our chores now. We’ve restocked our daily necessities and the mansion is squeaky-clean. Feels good when everything goes according to plan.

[Ruki takes a sip of his tea.]

09:04 Besides, it’s nice to see the living room spotless. It’s as if the tea even tastes better because of it.

[Ruki puts down his cup, motioning towards the apple pie.]

Hurry up and take a bite.  Ah, but if you don’t want any, I won’t force you to eat it.   I’m sure Kou would appreciate the extra serving.

[You quickly start eating.]

Heh. Don’t choke on it. You know what’ll happen if you ruin my good mood. Or do you? You look like a hamster in a pet shop window with your mouth stuffed like that. (3)

[Ruki stands up and comes closer to you.]

Maybe I should start calling you that from now on instead of Livestock. Your mouth is covered in crumbs. No manners, huh?

[Ruki runs his fingers over your mouth. You’re surprised and drop your fork.]

10:02 Why are you so surprised? I only brushed away the crumbs. It makes me want to discipline you, really, but I’ll let you off easy this time. You worked hard today. I appreciate it. However, it would be a shame if the floor got dirty when we’ve only just cleaned it. I’ll feed you.

[Ruki breaks off a piece with the fork and holds it out to you. You try to refuse.]

You have no right to refuse. As your master, I want to reward you for your efforts. Be thankful and accept it.

[You take the bite.]

[To himself] If I could marry her (4) in the future, I wonder if our days together will be just as peaceful as this one. Livestock is quite the handful, but if we could live together quietly, just the two of us… that does not seem so bad.

飼（か）い殺（ごろ）し : Lit. ‘to keep and kill (a pet),’ meaning to keep a domestic animal beyond its useful life or keeping a person on the payroll without utilising their skills

Not a translation note but the way he talks in this drama CD fucking kills me, this man is secretly such a tsundere (and a clean freak. I love)

In Japanese these past few lines sounded really suggestive so I hope that vibe carried across…

 契（ちぎ）りを交（か）わす: Lit. ‘to exchange (wedding) vows.’ I just briefly want to mention that 契り is also a euphemism for having sexual relations even though he… obviously doesn’t mean it that way in this context but do with that knowledge as you will hehe

[creative-classpect]

Sylph of Void

The Sylph of Void. One who heals secrecy, darkness, and nothingness while also healing with them.

The cool black abyss. Come in peace and watch your step

Sylph- heal their aspect and heal with it. They bring their aspect to where there is little of it, sowing the seeds for their aspect to grow.

Void- major themes of nothingness, obscurity, and the Void. Minor themes of ignorance, secrecy, darkness and null.

Abilities

Shroud

The Sylph of Void allows shadows, mystery, and secrecy to blossom, bloom, and spread. The Sylph is capable of a sort of sleight of hand and misdirection, allowing little unnoticed changes to become areas of obfuscation and confusion. 

Initially this could manifest as a blackout doctrine, specializing in redacting, deleting, and disconnecting key pieces of information. Carefully editing audio and video, blacking out text in sensitive files, and other similar forms of direct information control. The Sylph is something of a counterintelligence agent, either as minor as someone being a troll or as grand as one of the Men In Black, choosing to carefully and meticulously erase key details.

At lower levels these methods of shrouding would begin to take on a more supernatural lean, able to not simply block out the information in the present, but expand beyond the medium to the information itself. When they begin octuring information it subtly alters other records of the same object or event and can even pass into the minds of anyone witnessing the shroud. Carving a face out of a painting could result in all other portraits of the person in the castle being similarly removed with servants unable to easily remember who the portrait was supposed to be of.

As the Sylph of Void progresses this would move beyond tampering and enter into interfering with reality with less interference. The Sylph would be able to cast their shroud over objects and people, akin to a magic placing a blanket over something they wish to disappear. While cloaked, objects and people would be in a field of stasis, unaware of time and unburdened by things like cause and effect. These people or objects sit in a place of superposition where until the shroud is removed, nothing has occurred yet. The coin at the apex of a toss. All while their gap in the world is felt, reverberating out. This can be used to effectively erase periods of a timeline, to hide things away in the hidden depths of the Incipisphere, and to allow the disappearance of any person or object to invoke inquiry about the mysterious void left behind.

At medium levels, the Sylph of Void can allow these shadows to lengthen, controlling a dimmer to the world itself.  Their shroud would increase in size, allowing for more subjects of greater size, number, and distance to the Sylph to become hidden. As long as they remain shrouded it is like they never even existed or a magic trick yet to meet a resolution, if it ever will. Prolonged time shrouded could result in things being swallowed by the void, never to be seen again. The Sylph could cause these lost things to be forgotten as well.

At higher levels, the Sylph of Void would be able to cloak entire places within their shroud, erasing and neutralizing all details and senses related to the place. Entire airships, armies, castles, moments themselves could simply cease to be. The looming dread of a mysterious threat passing over an army as monsters disappear behind the curtain of reality. The Sylph of Void controls the curtains of the stage, and with it, what stories get told. People, places, and events can be forced to transpire “off-screen” away from anything of importance or note, if the Sylph allows them to transpire at all.

Safe haven

A Sylph of Void renews with void, healing and restoring with nothingness, obscurity, and lack of focus. The Sylph knows how to take the pressure off, allowing time and rest away from the vibrant sights and sounds of the world around them. They can cause things to lose relevance and immediate impact, creating a gentle environment.

While they are more than capable of reducing harm, they might lack the drive necessary to achieve their ends or fully sympathize with the desires of others, a caretaker focused solely on recovery without the end goal of activity in mind. 

At lower levels the Sylph has a cooling, soothing, perhaps even to the point of stifling aura. They are capable of suppressing or even nullifying pain, hunger, and stress, at the cost of all else: initiative, drive, extreme emotions, and clarity of purpose. They could refresh and restore stamina and endurance and in more extreme cases, allow for their allies to simply shrug off harm and keep standing or even alive through the Sylph alone.

As they progress this ability to soothe and nullify would expand into an aura around them, a lack of narrative focus and spotlight allowing them to bring peace and reprieve. Similar to how conflicts in movies tend to slow for a character interaction scene, the Sylph would be able to bide their time. Attacks never seem to make a solid impact, ranged weaponry flying harmlessly past, boss monsters being easily distracted by other threats, etc. The Sylph would particularly excel at evacuations, with those they can maintain focus on simply fading away and disappearing into the background to maneuver and escape. 

At medium levels the Sylph of Void can create their own pocket in reality, a literal safe space beyond the borders of the world around them. This pocket dimension would be a space of deep introspection and quiet peace, where little, if anything, could interfere. Without shape and form, this nebulous area of nothingness is a cool dark abyss, where time is slowed. The Sylph and their allies would have a time to rest, a pause button for the world around them. While in this safe haven things may not occur in their immediate surroundings, but other functions far away may still occur. While the area around the Safe Haven may slow and lose tension, the spotlight must always be directed and for better or worse, it will go elsewhere.

At higher levels this Safe Haven would expand in dimension and ability, evolving from a small protective space to a large area completely outside the bounds of space and time, without cause and effect, without narrative pressure and tension. The Safe Haven is a world unto itself, existing between the threads of reality, the space between pages, where all lost and forgotten things dwell. Even should this kingdom of darkness manage to be breached, swirling protective shadows and horrorterror guardians are able to protect the Sylph of Void.

Passives

Something from nothing- you never require tools to fix an object or heal a creature, seemingly making due with nothing at all

Better without- even when you are not present you are helpful

Whisper network- you can share secretive information regardless of distance or method

- - -

This post was commissioned by @smiteblast442 ! Thank you for being patient <3

If you want to commission me you can find me @ https://ko-fi.com/kesscal

[seniorpollinationtechnician]

Ethan spent the next three hours in his cluttered office, surrounded by stacks of old files and a mess of digital archives on his computer. Eventually, ISAAC's voice broke the silence. "Ethan, I have located several encrypted documents closely related to your search history. Shall I bring them up?"

After a vocal confirmation, ISAAC remotely accessed Ethan's computer and began displaying a series of decrypted files with some title variation of 'Chrysalis_2023'. Project Chrysalis had been one of his most secretive assignments while working with the government where he had been tasked with engineering a containment and analysis system for biological entities. The government's vague description alluded to 'non-terrestrial biological entities', which Ethan naively interpreted as some advanced biological research.

The digital files were heavily redacted but offered enough information to remind him that he had physical evidence as well. He eventually found a folder containing detailed schematics alongside his own annotations on the nature of the project. One document in particular, an incident report, caught his eye.

Entry Date: 04/12/2023 Subject: NTBE X-23 Humanoid organism measuring 1.8 meters (6 ft.) in height. Bipedal locomotion. Epidermis is a pale yellow tone. Facial structure similar to that of a human being but with eight black eyes arranged in a symmetrical pattern. Indecipherable markings around the eyes. Subject arrived unconscious and has not regained consciousness throughout the observation period. Subject X-23 was transferred from the recovery unit into the primary containment chamber at 1100 hours. Upon entering the containment unit, the subject's vital signs surged. Subject X-23 abruptly regained consciousness and exhibited erratic behavior. Witnesses claimed to have seen something move within the subject's skin. Vocalizations consistent with an unknown language were recorded (see audio log 0134-B1). Linguistic analysis is ongoing. The subject shortly underwent a rapid biological transformation. Epidermal surfaces split open, extruding long, vine-like protrusions tipped with bioluminescent nodules. The cranial structure split open longitudinally, revealing a maw lined with razor-sharp teeth. At 1400 hours, Subject X-23 initiated a violent attack on the containment unit. The material composition used proved insufficient. A containment breach occurred at 1405 hours. Specimen X-23 lunged at Dr. ■■■■, inflicting a fatal laceration to the abdomen. Security personnel were authorized to terminate the threat. Subject X-23 was neutralized at 1410 hours. Residual specimens are being collected for further analysis. The containment unit is undergoing repairs and biohazard decontamination. Further research is on hold pending reevaluation of containment protocols.

[thatstonedwriter]

Quality Time with..

Stolas

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

A/N: this series will be romantic 'x reader' content. I have some ideas for who will be next but let me know if y'all have any preferences!

Content; Romantic relationships, gender neutral reader, fluff, mentions of flirting

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Spending time with Stolas would include...

Him reading to you. Anything, for any reason. See an interesting tabloid at the store? He'll follow you around and read it to you (like a lil audio book). You can expect trips to libraries and book stores, lots long nights in his home library.

"did you know..?" He's a sucker for fun facts and lil information tidbits. Will read books about your interests so he can appreciate them with you!

Gardening! Or at least, taking care of house plants. If you bring your own or go with him to plant nurseries? In love. Deceased. Just be careful around the carnivorous ones. It's not that they're mean! Just overly enthusiastic and have sharp teeth

Trips to Zoos, Aquariums, Vivariums, Museums, Plant Nurseries, you name it. He'll bring a notebook too, no doubt.

Watching Hell-a-Novellas on the couch while you're binging snacks. Stolas needs his fix of reality TV and drama. (It's like watching Grey's Anatomy even though it makes you want to scream. Totally not speaking from experience)

Flirting. It's to be expected. I'll say it every time though, if you're not comfortable with that kind of stuff, Stolas understands. There are more ways to show his adoration for you.

If you do enjoy flirtation.. He'll make the most of it. He just enjoys complimenting you, seeing you blush- and if he's so lucky, being on the receiving end of your affection would make his day. There may be times where Stolas goes overboard, but if you let him know, he'll dial it back

Stolas is pretty attentive to your needs and this will manifest into small acts of service. Noticing you're hungry? Snacks have been summoned. Anxious or uneasy? Your comfort items are right there.

Quality time with Stolas is so gentle and domestic. This kind of love is what he's been dreaming of, and he's so grateful to be sharing it with you.

[thecleverqueer]

I really hate that folks use the Wrong Jedi as an excuse to hate the Jedi order. There really was A LOT going on with that, and if looked at through a neutral lens, neither the Jedi nor Ahsoka were really to blame. They both just made some questionable decisions that they felt were right in the moment, and they ended up making things worse. Let me explain:

First, as an audience, we’re following Ahsoka’s POV. Because of this, we’re seeing her side unfold. That’s important. We’re seeing what she is going through. We know she didn’t bomb the temple, and the Jedi council knew this as well. After all, the council did entrust Anakin and Ahsoka to investigate the bombing initially, and trusted no other Jedi to get involved because they were sure that neither Anakin nor Ahsoka were the perpetrators while everyone else remained suspect. They were, after all, off-world when the bombing happened.

Then, things get a little hairy with the death of Letta in the cell. We know Ahsoka didn’t do it. We were in the room with her when Letta died. However, in prior scenes, Ahsoka is going off the rails about Letta “paying” or “being dealt with” for bombing the temple. Letta dying by force choke while Ahsoka happened to be talking to her alone in a cell was convenient (and I would argue that was either set up by Tarkin via Palpatine, or we could argue that Barriss wanked off so hard about how amazing Ahsoka was that Letta felt compelled to reach out her for help at the wrong moment, but either way, too convenient).

At this point, the council’s hands are tied, but I feel like they would still want to get more information before throwing the book at Ahsoka. I feel like they would have proceeded with caution, but would have probably been able to ultimately work it all out in Ahsoka’s favor. A video with no audio would not be enough evidence to convince them that Ahsoka was responsible for BOTH Letta’s death AND the bombing (especially since the Jedi were already convinced she had nothing to do with the bombing to begin with).

Then, Ahsoka does something monumentally stupid. She breaks out of her cell and tries to make a break for it. I get why she does it. First off, she was young. Second, she’d always escaped situations exactly like the one she was in when in trouble and ran away (just not when a literal system of justice was involved). Third, she was scared. And finally, she didn’t trust the process. I blame Anakin’s training primarily for her lack of trust in the process. Throughout their time together, we see them breaking rules, not placing trust in the council’s judgement (which was fair sometimes in their defense, but set a bad precedent).

Running was still a VERY BAD LOOK. And, it’s funny, because Ahsoka LITERALLY SAYS in the PRIOR episode that “running means you know more than you’re telling us” to Letta when Letta tries to make a break for it after she was caught for bombing the temple. Ahsoka KNOWS running makes one look guilty, and still… had she just kept her ass planted in that cell, it would have been fine, but… Yeah. All those dead clones between her and that door. We still know that it wasn’t Ahsoka. We were with Ahsoka on this journey. The members of the Jedi council were not. At this point, they had to look at the evidence that was in front of them. From outside of Ahsoka’s POV, it doesn’t look good. Ahsoka said it herself. Anakin tried to tell her as much too before she fled to the under-city, but at that point, she was definitely in over her head.

The council had no other options honestly. They explain this to the audience. Tarkin refused to allow the council to deal with the matter internally as the Jedi Council requested. Tarkin demanded she be sent to face justice by military tribunal. The council bent. Standing by Ahsoka would be an open act of defiance against the senate which would cause chaos for the order both politically and judicially. While a dark sense clouded the entire situation, they could do nothing. The temple had been bombed. People died. Letta was dead. Ahsoka ran. Clones died in that incident. Then, Ahsoka ended up getting apprehended right by the nano droid explosives. We know Ahsoka didn’t do it as we were with her the whole time, but that’s A LOT of evidence stacked against her if you didn’t know any better.

Anakin worked tirelessly to clear Ahsoka’s name, and succeeded. The council, realizing that they’d had a lapse in judgement, offered Ahsoka an invitation to return to the order. They half-ass apologized as they realized they were wrong, and they offered Ahsoka knighthood for what she’d gone through. She refused.

Ahsoka’s reason for leaving wasn’t that she “hated the council” or that she thought they were innately bad or wrong. She left because she’d lost all sense of trust, including trust in herself (and I won’t make this about the Barriss and Ahsoka dynamic, but that was part of it too). She knew something was off, and couldn’t place it. She had to go sort everything out on her own for a bit. Ultimately, if not for Order 66, she would have gone back to the Jedi after the war was over. Hell, she is still a Jedi now (in her show), just leery as fuck of organizations as a whole because of *gestures vaguely* everything.

So, yeah. In closing, the Jedi had flaws. They owned them. Ahsoka had flaws. The situation with the bombing was impossible. It doesn’t make either party bad, dumb or hate-worthy. It just wasn’t working out at that moment… and due to galactic events, it was never really resolved.

[twinewool]

Much like my collection of audio clips for Si'dra Balos' scenes in PARTIZAN I also have a collection for Even/Cascabel scenes in Twilight Mirage (very much both gathered for fanfic purposes).

For anyone interested, here are all the audio files I have. These are only some of the scenes in Twilight Mirage that involve Cascabel, but they're all of the major scenes that include both Even and Cascabel…

Even and Cascabel meet for the first time (1 min 40 sec).

Cascabel takes Even and Grand to his workshop below the diner to work on the q-glass bullets (11 mins).

Cascabel's message in the intro to Even's 'This Year of Ours' episode (2 mins 20 sec).

Even and Echo gather information from Cascabel at the diner during the Stitch arc (11 mins). Please note: I had to cut out a lot of talk to fit tumblr's file size limits, so this is very edited compared to the original episode.

Even indulges his vice with Cascabel during downtime (1 min 25 sec).

Even records a message for Cascabel after shit goes down in The Siege of the Lineage Brighton arc (3 mins 35 sec).

Cascabel stops Even from getting his gun during the Feast of Patina (1 min 45 sec).

'Stealing Time' finale scene between Even and Cascabel (5 mins 30 sec). 8b. Extended 'Stealing Time' finale scene including the goofy jokes made in the run up (6 mins 35 secs).

[mayberaspberrywrites]

No One But You | Dehya x Reader | SAGAU

A/N: Your girl just got Dehya yesterday, and just had to write a fic in celebration. This is my first angst. Be nice you goofy goobers

P.S.: ...I ran out of Sand Grease Pupas :(

Genre: Fluff, Angst

Reader: Gender Neutral

Warnings: Angsty

SAGAU!!!

Summary: Dehya fears that you won't want to pull for her after the leaks and kit reviews. You prove her wrong.

The city spoke in hushed whispers upon her arrival. The whispers ranged from pure disgust to pity. To Dehya, it all felt horrible.

"There she is!"

"Didn't you hear? Her kit was leaked."

"Pathetic."

"What will the players think about this?"

Of course she'd also known the moment her kit dropped. She herself felt anger towards the developers for the way she'd been wronged. What she didn't expect, however, was for everyone else to find out about it. "Tsk…" Despite the backlash, the flame mane managed to keep herself together.

That only lasted so long.

Each day felt worse. She continued with her mercenary duties as normal, but at the end of each day, she felt herself break more and more.

It began to affect her battle performance as well, something that did not go unnoticed by her fellow mercenaries. 

And then her banner dropped. She had high hopes that you'd pull for her regardless of the things you'd heard. As she sat on her bed, she thought back to all the things you'd said.

From the moment she was leaked, you were ecstatic. 

"She's so pretty!"

Dehya smiled to herself at the fond memory. 

"Do we know her name yet?" You asked your friend, your primary source of information. "They're saying her name is 'Dehya.'" Your friend responded. 

"Dehya…." What a pretty name, you'd thought to yourself.

You were joyful the moment her npc version appeared in the game. Her lines were the only dialogue you didn't skip. 

From that day forward, you told yourself you'd pull for her. You took in all the information about her that you could. You sat through the debates on whether she'd be a 4 star or a 5 star. It didn't matter to you, all you knew was that she was going to be yours.

That didn't mean you weren't overjoyed when it was confirmed she was a 5 star. "Ha! I told you so!" You teased your friend, who playfully rolled their eyes. "Fine, you win. It's going to be harder to get her now, I hope you know that." You shrugged it off. "I don't care how many wishes it takes. She will be mine."

And then came the day everything began crumbling down.

"Credible leakers have confirmed that Dehya will be on the standard banner!" 

She heard the audio all the way from another app on your phone. What would you think of this?

"It can't be that bad. Besides, I wouldn't mind losing my 50/50 to Dehya." You reasoned.

Dehya breathed a sigh of relief. She knew you mained one of the standard characters already, but she didn't know how you'd feel about her now.

And it only got worse from there. The talk of the city began. It was nothing all that bad, at first, just a few apologies here and there.

"I'm sorry, Dehya. But look on the bright side…"

"Poor girl."

"Standard…she's going to be weak."

To her, it didn't matter. All she cared about was your opinion on her. However, the comments made her wonder if you'd be swayed.

What if she decides I'm not good enough? If I don't do enough damage, she might choose someone else over me…" She shook the nasty thoughts out of her head. No. I know my creator. They would never.

Dehya suddenly snapped back to the present. She was now laying down, curled into her blankets. She felt her eyes moisten. No. I'm stronger than this. I can't let the creator down. She sat up once more, staring into the mirror across from her bed. Weak. Pathetic.

They can say all they want. I might be physically weaker than the others, but I won't let them break down my mental state too. 

From that day forward, she made it a habit to train harder. To compliment you more. To give you a reason to consider her.

"Look, she just winked!" You exclaimed, pointing at her. "What? She didn't wink for me though?" Your friend, who was doing the same quest, showed you their screen. "Mm…must be a bug." They concluded. 

But You knew better.

And then the day of the livestream arrived. You preferred not to believe leaked banners, as you'd been fooled before. And alas, the banners were different from the leaked ones.

"Phase One will be…Cyno and Dehya!"

You were quiet. Too quiet. Dehya began to worry. She knew that her kit was nothing compared to Cyno's. 

"Phase Two will be…Shenhe and Ayaka!" The video announced. "Haha, good thing I don't need either of them." You said, continuing the video.

Dehya continued to listen in on the rest of the video, but her mind became clouded halfway through. You never said anything about Cyno. She bit her lip as she pondered, the video quickly becoming background noise to her thoughts. 

You never said you didn't want Cyno.

…And you never said you wanted me.

She clicked her tongue in frustration. Was she still not enough? She had to ensure that you still wanted her.

So she amped up her efforts.

She sent you mail. She never put her name on it. That would seem too desperate, she thought. On the day that her banner dropped, she mailed you 600 primos under the guise of maintenance. Attached to the 'maintenance rewards' were little trinkets, some that she thought would remind you of her.

To her delight, the developers decided to hand out 1 intertwined fate per archon quest. "If we do the math…that's 21, excluding the newest quest." She said to herself. "Plus what I sent…"

Unfortunately, your luck did not cooperate. Out of all of the pulls, your best item was a Bennett constellation.

"Bummer. Oh well." You closed the game, much to Dehya's distress. She still hoped that the day would come.

But then the whispers began again, this time while she was sitting outside the local tavern.

"Didn't you hear? The creator's considering pulling for Cyno instead!"

"He's the better option anyway, at least he can deal damage." One snickered.

She put down her glass, and breathed out a deep sigh before jumping when she felt a touch on her shoulder.

"Don't listen to them. I know she wants you more than anything." A familiar voice spoke. Dehya turned her head to be faced with the one and only General Mahamatra Cyno. She laughed bitterly. "Easy for you to say, General. This patch is in your favor."

Cyno crossed his arms, staring down at Dehya. "I mean it. Don't let it bother you."

"Yeah. Whatever." She smiled lightly. Despite their current rivalry between banners, Cyno was never hostile towards her. "It doesn't bother me any." 

…I'll try to keep that in mind.

She waited. She waited for days, and she was starting to lose hope. She'd heard you talking to your friend again.

"My feed is full of Dehya showcases now. She doesn't hit very high damage at all." You'd said.

Ouch.

"I suggest that you consider pulling for Cyno or waiting for a good banner to roll around." 

"Hmm."

By then, she'd tuned out. It's fine. Life goes on after all. 

And there she stood. She felt the tears falling down her cheeks as she made no attempt to wipe them.

"Archons…now my makeup is messed up." She weeped to herself.

And then she fell to her knees. 

But then she felt a warmth surging around her. She opened her eyes, immediately covering her eyes to prevent being blinded by the light. 

Wh…what's going on?!

She heard your voice in the distance.

"OH MY GOD OH MY GOD! IT'S GOLD!" You squealed, watching the screen intensely.

There's no way…

Dehya felt as though she was flying. Her eyes widened as she finally broke through her dark thoughts.

You wanted her?

You actually wanted her.

Her splash art displayed on your screen as you shrieked with joy.

"Dehya! You're finally home!"

—

A little while later, after you fell asleep, the game transferred your body into Teyvat. This had happened on many different occasions at random. You weren't afraid anymore.

After searching for some time, you found Dehya standing by herself. She wasn't hiding her tears any longer. You quietly stood behind her, not wanting to scare her.

You should've known that a mercenary's senses were stronger than that. She sensed your power.

"I heard it all, you know." She stared down, willing herself to stay strong. "The things they said about me. Normally, I wouldn't care, but…" She balled up her fists, taking a deep breath before shakily exhaling. 

"...You don't hate me?" She asked, slowly turning to face you, while still holding her head down. You softly cupped her cheek, lifting it up.  Her eyes were glossy, and her cheeks were stained with tear streaks. You smiled affectionately, staring directly into her sapphire eyes. "I could never hate you, my dear." You pulled her into a tight hug. After a few heartbeats, she finally laid her head on your shoulder. 

"I…never wanted anyone to see me like this." She sniffled, briefly lifting her head up and wiping away her tears, further smudging her eyeliner. "Especially not you." I look pathetic. 

You shushed her softly. "Lovely, it's okay to cry. It doesn't make you weak." You hugged her harder.

Damn, she has some back muscles. No, no, not the time.

"Even after everything they said? You still wanted me?" Why didn't you listen to them? They were right. 

"I've never cared all that much about the 'meta'." 

You rubbed soothing circles into her back as you spoke quietly. "When I saw you for the first time. I knew I knew I had to have you." 

"But what about what your friend said? They were right, Y'know. There are better options than me." You scoffed, smiling. "Don't worry about them. They're just a goofball. Dehya chuckled to herself before taking a long breath in. You pulled back from the hug, still holding her by the shoulders. For a moment, you two stared into each other's eyes. Dehya wished it would have lasted a little longer. "Chin up, Flame Mane. You and I have much to do together." You squeezed her shoulders. 

She's so happy you didn't give up on her.

—

Bonus:

You were now playing from your computer. You were testing out your new main Dehya’s damage. After all of your combined hard work, she was finally level 90 and triple crowned.

"Wow…that IS some mid damage." 

"HEY!" She bit back playfully.

"I'm joking, I'm joking! You did well for your first showcase. How about we grab some food to celebrate?"

"Haha. Sounds good, my stomach is hitting my backbone!" Dehya jested.

"Have you ever had sticky honey roast before? It's pretty good." You suggested. 

"Hm, never heard of it. I'll bite."

Dehya looked on towards Sumeru City. Let's continue our adventure tomorrow, creator. You and I have a long road ahead of us.

—