#Checkpoint Model

[redslug]

Helping Neuroslug help me

Admittedly it took me an embarrassing amount of time to figure out and start using inpainting, but now that I've had a taste of it my head is spinning with possibilities. And so I'm making this post to show the process and maybe encourage more artists to try their hand at generating stuff. It really can can be an amazing teammate when you know how to apply it. For those who didn't see my first post on this, I've trained an AI on my artworks, because base Stable Diffusion doesn't understand what anthropomorphic insects are. That out of the way, here we go:

I noticed that a primarily character focused LoRA often botches backgrounds (probably because few images of the dataset have them) so I went with generating a background separately and roughly blocking out a character over it in Procreate. Since it was a first experiment I got really generous with proper shading and even textures. Unsurprisingly, SD did it's job quite well without much struggle.

Basically masked out separate parts such as fluff, skirt, watering can, etc. and changed the prompt to focus on that specific object to add detail. There were some bloopers too. She's projecting her inner spider.

Of course it ate the hands. Not inpainting those, it's the one thing I'll render correctly faster than the AI does. Some manual touchups to finish it off and voila:

The detail that would have taken me hours is done in 10-20 minutes of iterating through various generations. And nothing significant got lost in translation from the block out, much recommend. But that was easy mode, my rough sketch could be passed off as finished on one of my lazier days, not hard to complete something like that. Lets' try rough rough.

I got way fewer chuckles out of this than I expected, it took only 4-5 iterations for the bot to offer me something close to the sketch.

>:C It ate the belly. I demand the belly back. Scribble it in...

Much better. Can do that with any bit actually, very nice for iterating a character design.

Opal eyes maybe?

Lol

Okay, no, it's kind of unsettling. Back to red ones. Now, let's give her thigh highs because why not?

It should be fancier. Give me a lace trim.

Now we're talking. Since we've started playing dress-up anyway, why not try a dress too. Please don't render my scribble like a trash bag. I know you want to.

Phew

I crave more details.

Cute. Perhaps I'll clean it up later. ... .. . SHRIMP DRESS

[checkpointgaming]

When things go hilariously wrong 💀 From our Twitch Anniversary stream: CPG Trivia! VOD is up on our channel

[nostalgebraist]

Today, a little less than two years after the OP, I asked the same question to a language model running locally on my laptop.

And rather than producing nonsense – or even producing a correct but memorized-looking textbook-style answer – it simply thought about the problem for a long time, like a human would do with a hard problem, until eventually working its way to a correct answer:

Sure, its thought process is awkwardly phrased and repetitive, with some minor errors and confusions here and there, but hey, it ultimately gets the job done.

And it's probably not any more awkward-sounding than my own inner monologue when I'm trying to solve a math problem, if you could somehow transcribe it directly into the written word without cleaning it up at all.

(I like how it thinks about the Dirichlet function briefly at some point, but fails to notice that you can just shift and scale it to get the required property, and immediately zooms off in another direction, never making the connection again. It got what I meant when I pointed this out to it in a follow-up message, though.)

ETA: @sniffnoy points out that the model's final answer isn't quite right, because the complement of D also needs to be dense)

I had some fun asking ChatGPT about cases from "Counterexamples in Analysis." You get this kind of uncanny valley math, syntactically and stylistically correct but still wildly wrong.

This was a response to "Prove or disprove: there exists a nowhere continuous function whose absolute value is everywhere continuous." It responded in TeX, which I coped into a TeX editor.

Another answer to the same question:

[clicktuck-suskriberz]

My first ever Blender render

[fatehbaz]

was thinking about this

To be in "public", you must be a consumer or a laborer.

About control of peoples' movement in space/place. Since the beginning.

"Vagrancy" of 1830s-onward Britain, people criminalized for being outside without being a laborer.

Breaking laws resulted in being sentenced to coerced debtor/convict labor. Coinciding with the 1830-ish climax of the Industrial Revolution and the land enclosure acts (factory labor, poverty, etc., increase), the Metropolitan Police Act of 1829 establishes full-time police institution(s) in London. The "Workhouse Act" aka "Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834" forced poor people to work for a minimum number of hours every day. The Irish Constabulary of 1837 sets up a national policing force and the County Police Act of 1839 allows justices of the peace across England to establish policing institutions in their counties (New York City gets a police department in 1844). The major expansion of the "Vagrancy Act" of 1838 made "joblessness" a crime and enhanced its punishment. (Coincidentally, the law's date of royal assent was 27 July 1838, just 5 days before the British government was scheduled to allow fuller emancipation of its technical legal abolition of slavery in the British Caribbean on 1 August 1838.)

---

"Vagrancy" of 1860s-onward United States, people criminalized for being outside while Black.

Widespread emancipation after slavery abolition in 1865 rapidly followed by the outlawing of loitering which de facto outlawed existing as Black in public. Inability to afford fines results in being sentenced to forced labor by working on chain gangs or prisons farms, some built atop plantations.

---

"Vagrancy" of 1870s-onward across empires, people criminalized for being outside while being "foreign" and also being poor generally.

Especially from 1880-ish to 1918-ish, this was an age of widespread mass movement of peoples due to the land dispossession, poverty, and famine induced by global colonial extraction and "market expansion" (Scramble for Africa, US "American West", nation-building, conquering "frontiers"), as agricultural "revolutions" of imperial monoculture cash crop extraction resulted in ecological degradation, and as major imperial infrastructure building projects required a lot of vulnerable "mobile" labor. This coincides with and is facilitated by new railroad networks and telegraphs, leading to imperial implementation or expansion of identity documents, strict work contracts, passports, immigration surveillance, and border checkpoints.

All of this in just a few short years: In 1877, British administrators in India develop what would become the Henry Classification System of taking and keeping fingerprints for use in binding colonial Indians to legal contracts. That same year during the 1877 Great Railroad Strike, and in response to white anxiety about Black residents coming to the city during Great Migration, Chicago's policing institutions exponentially expand surveillance and pioneer "intelligence card" registers for tracking labor union organizing and Black movement, as Chicago's experiments become adopted by US military and expanded nationwide, later used by US forces monitoring dissent in colonial Philippines and Cuba. Japan based its 1880 Penal Code anti-vagrancy statutes on French models, and introduced "koseki" register to track poor/vagrant domestic citizens as Tokyo's Governor Matsuda segregates classes, and the nation introduces "modern police forces". In 1882, the United States passes the Chinese Exclusion Act. In 1884, the Ottoman government enacts major "Passport Nizamnamesi" legislation requiring passports. In 1885, the racist expulsion of the "Tacoma riot".

Punished for being Algerian in France. Punished for being Chinese in San Francisco. Punished for being Korean in Japan. Punished for crossing Ottoman borders without correct paperwork. Arrested for whatever, then sent to do convict labor. A poor person in the Punjab, starving during a catastrophic famine, might be coerced into a work contract by British authorities. They will have to travel, shipped off to build a railroad. But now they have to work. Now they are bound. They will be punished for being Punjabi and trying to walk away from Britain's tea plantations in Assam or Britain's rubber plantations in Malaya.

Mobility and confinement, the empire manipulates each.

---

"Vagrancy" amidst all of this, people also criminalized for being outside while "unsightly" and merely even superficially appearing to be poor. San Francisco introduced the notorious "ugly law" in 1867, making it illegal for "any person, who is diseased, maimed, mutilated or deformed in any way, so as to be an unsightly or disgusting object, to expose himself or herself to public view". Today, if you walk into a building looking a little "weird" (poor, Black, ill, disabled, etc.), you are given seething spiteful glares and asked to leave. De facto criminalized for simply going for a stroll without downloading the coffee shop's exclusive menu app.

Too ill, too poor, too exhausted, too indebted to move, you are trapped. Physical barriers (borders), legal barriers (identity documents), financial barriers (debt). "Vagrancy" everywhere in the United States, a combination of all of the above. "Vagrancy" since at least early nineteenth century Europe. About the control of movement through and access to space/place. Concretizing and weaponizing caste, corralling people, anchoring them in place, extracting their wealth and labor.

You are permitted to exist only as a paying customer or an employee.

[kyhora]

FRAUD ANALYSIS

(SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO REMAIN BLIND)

"TRUST NOT YOUR EYES, TRUST NOT YOUR EARS."

MY OPENING THOUGHTS

I have... SO MANY THOUGHTS. There was a lot going on here with Fraud and it has absolutely surprised me in its presentation. I'll be talking about specific things to make it easier for me and for you, dear reader, to better understand and process what in the Hell is happening here.

PROVIDENCE

I was stupid and thought it was initially a seraphim because they have similar designs, but yk what Virtues look like Serpahims too so I dunno what I'm on abt LMAO.

I knew from the start the eye in the cover for In Absentia ΛΟΓΟΣ was related to an enemy after following the logic of Hear! The Siren Song Call of Death's preview with the Gutterman's shield. Despite that, oh my goodness this is a really sick design, the transparent, glassy feathers, the eye and how it looks like a slab placed onto the wings, it looks so WEIRD and I love it so much, for our third ever angel enemy, they delivered hard on its design.

I have seen some theories/speculation that Providence looks way too detailed/refined compared to other enemies, inferring that V1 is incapable of processing Providence's appearence. While I'm not opposed to the idea, I don't necessarily subscribe to it, I think Providence is just a really big model which leaves a lot of room for details to be refined. If V1 can process a Virtue, it can process a Providence.

It looks obnoxious with that magenta beam, I don't even wanna know what it does on Brutal LMAO. Surprisingly brittle for an 8th layer enemy though or maybe it retains similar damage multipliers as a Virtues which is why the Electric Railcannon did so much damage to it, idk. I don't have much else to really say about Providence other than the fact it's a visually impressive pain in the asshole, can't wait to see it for the first time and want to kill it harder than every other enemy in a Cybergrind wave.

FRAUD'S AESTHETICS

Fun fact abt myself: I REALLY FUCKING LOVE LIMINAL SPACES. I love liminal spaces with all my heart, they're a really cool form of atmospheric horror (don't confuse this with the backrooms, I hate that shit). Fraud basing itself off of liminal spaces is really damn neat and honestly makes sense, since Hakita even mentioned how during development for 7-1: THE GARDEN OF FORKING PATHS, he tried out stuff like myhouse.wad and ofc read House of Leaves. Besides his own inspirations, it makes perfect sense to use liminal aesthetics here, vaguely familiar halls and rooms met with a reality that defies logic, very fraud if I do say so myself.

Gonna post some pictues of rooms I really like and add any commentary if need be.

Really sick opening room, I love the weird wallpaper, the lamps, just everything here and how its placed is perfect. It perfectly gives off that liminal vibe that this layer is wanting to play into. I adore liminal spaces that feel like it was something built by something that doesn't know how to be human, it gives off such an errie vibe.

A friend on Discord found a theory on Reddit about this and omg it's actually kinda neat

I was squealling when I saw this for the first time. My friend in the vc I was streaming this too said it was all they could hear throughout the trailer LMFAOOO. If there is one thing I'll mention, it's that I think it's funny how apparently Fraud has television but Lust doesn't. What a bunch of bums /j. i do think Lust is more advanced and prolly have TVs, but this is our first official TV in ULTRAKILL

What a banger fucking opening. I adore this shot so much, and honestly it's reminiscent of those liminal space images of hotel hallways like these:

The transition of the hallway shifting to the checkpoint is so fucking awesome too. fun thing I noticed was that there was a low buzzing sound, like when you press yourself up to the walls of Limbo. Not sure if it implies anything or is an audio indicator of shifting realities.

WHAT A COOL ASS ROOM. I LOVED THE TRANSITION HERE SO MUCH, MY JAW DROPPED WATCHING THE WALLS SHIFT TO MAKE IT BIGGER. I'M SO EXCITED TO SEE IF THIS IS GONNA DO ANYTHING MORE THAN JUST THIS AS THE LAYER GOES ON. After seeing this trailer at least 50 times already, I'm curious about how this room instigates the combat, since there's plenty of shots that have V1 walking back to the room or walking into other rooms from the doors. Fun to think about the frustration of getting lost in this place, finding yourself back, and then BOOM ! ENEMY ENCOUNTER ! ! !

Such a banger shot too, I love these kinda infinite mirror-esque rooms for non-euclidian stuff. An interesting detail are that the lion statues actually have a lion head unlike the one Limbo. I love how much this feels like a hotel, it has that eerie transitional vibe hotels can have but has this "first class" vibe to it all.

Really fun shot too. Love non-euclidian stuff playing with gravity and such.

I know I already said my jaw dropped but like... MY JAW. DROPPED. I mentioned it to my oomfies before but it looks a lot like the The Empyrean from Dante's Inferno:

Will mention this here because I don't wanna post images that are basically the same; but the other side of the skybox is noticably darker. Maybe it's this layer's day/night cycle? Not too sure but feels logical to me. I love how this layer is leaning into the heavenly imagery, I'm so curious about what kinda lore bits we're gonna get, and considering how we got a new angel enemy, we hopefully probably get some new angel lore. If Virtues and Gabriel were the only angels to have resided in Hell, makes me interested in if other angels are coming down from heaven, either to help Gabriel, or avenge the council by killing him.

I love that we're jumping from rooftops to others, nice change of scenery from the claustrophobic, eerie rooms inside the towers. I am happy the layer is still paying homage to the "tower of lies" idea by having us climb up them, jumping between them, and all that stuff.

Once again with the nonsensical prop placement. Why does this room have tables and chairs when there's nothing to eat or any other reason to lounge about here. Really interesting environmental storytelling, I'm confused and I LOVE IT.

Doth my eyes deceive ?

A NEW HOOK POINT ? ? ?

Sick transition but what's with the door on the right ? I wonder if it means anything or is just a visual indicator for where to go... hrmmmm...

"I'M BACK IN THE FUCKING BUILDING AGAIN??????"

Cool transition to the TV again, but I love the sharp contrast of aesthetics here. Again with the nonsensical placement of props but at least all the props share a theme ? ? ? Makes me curious if the next level or the next segment of 8-1: HURTBREAK WONDERLAND is gonna involve the poolrooms. I really hope it does. It's a really cool liminal space aesthetic that I think would be reallly interesting see and makes sense to mesh in with the liminal space inspirations of Fraud.

If curious abt the poolrooms:

with all that trailer analysis done, time to yap abt my thoughts of everything we've seen with some theories and speculation of my own :3

WHAT IS EVEN GOING ON ?

In Dante's Inferno, Fraud has 10 blogias (circles) that had specific punishments for different kinds of fraudulant behavior, but here in this Fraud ? Is the punishment here that the sinner is in a non-euclidian hotel being driven mad by the isolation and non-sensical rooms? It feels too much like Limbo if that is what's being done here, and besides, there's smaller buildings, there's rivers, there's all sorts of pleasant stuff here, what if maybe Fraud had its own renaissance like Lust ? Maybe the angels are doing something here with Fraud ? I'm honestly confused by what is happening here, I have no ideas for what happened to this layer, but for now I have my other thoughts about the explanations for the aesthetics, potential stuff going, on so forth. Just thought I'd bring up my confusion since I don't really have many ideas for the punishments here.

THE INFINITE HOTEL

With Fraud's aesthetics, I believe Fraud is going to be a hotel and each level is us descending into the kinds of rooms that would be in a hotel, like how in the first level we're in the hallways of what is presumably the place where all the rooms, while the second rooms takes us to a place that resembles the pools of hotels (hence why I believe in 8-2 poolrooms), and etc.

I also kinda see Hilbert's Hotel/The Infinite Hotel Paradox to be a form of inspiration for this place, an infinite hotel, houses infinite guests, and since mankind is dead...

explanation of the paradox:

If we look at Wrath, it feels like the logic of the infinite hotel checks here too, since the river styx began to become bigger following The Final War, and instantly became flooded after mankind's mysterious, biblical extinction. After so many new sinners entered the layer of Wrath, the river adapted to be the ocean, nothing changed, just more people in it now, and how the Ferrymen have grown acustomed to the new environment as well. Fraud after mankind's extinction made there have to be more rooms, and yet, all the "guests" have been accounted for.

A FALSE PARADISE

An idea I have is that Hell Itself rennovated Fraud to resemble the Lust Renaissance, to cruely trick the denizens of Fraud that they escaped the layer and found a comforting place in Hell, and in their delusion, unknowingly still roam around the endless halls of Fraud, finding a twisted pleasure in the false senses of hope the sinners are under.

Idk if I really agree with this idea, because why are there statues of Providence, why is there such heavenly imagery in this layer if this idea suggests it wants to be like Lust ? Maybe it instead wants to be a false Heaven ? But if that's the case, why are the towers and their architecture anything but ? I am lost over what this layer is wanting to be, it's obvious that every layer had their own punishments, either the punishments were directly shown to us in the layer (like Heresy's coffins, Wrath's ocean, and Violence's trees), or at least were mentioned, like with Lust's winds. But here in Fraud ? I have no idea what the punishment is here. Like. At all. It leaves me curious for what's in store and what is going to be explained, or maybe some theories are gonna be absolutely banger, who knows.

NEW ENEMIES & LORE

Soooo new enemies are coming, I believe we are either getting one or 2, potentially a new husk and 2 new angels. We already got Providence, a new husk feels right since it's been a while since we got one, and I am a firm believe that the angel statue from Limbo and the other layers is gonna be either our new arm OR new enemy. Plz. Give us more Angel lore. I'm on my hands and knees, Hakita, I need to know what they're like. I know we're in Hell so Heaven has far less involvement than if it was the other way around, but I still have to know. I GOTTA KNOW.

SOON™ (this year)

Also felt like talking about this because it's weirdly kinda confusing ? ? ? Looked into the general "soon" of New Blood and at times it's basically like. TOMORROW ? To which I think is not gonna happen if we read the description of In Absentia ΛΟΓΟΣ and how Hakita says they're still working on it (the first level I'd assume), so I dunno if in ONE MONTH they were able to just create the entirety of the Fraud layer that fast, hence why the (this year) addition makes me feel like they're releasing it maybe before the holiday season ? Who knows ! :P With the understanding that Fraud had troubles in development which led to the ULTRA_REVAMP update, maybe production got much easier after the enemy rework ? I've no idea honestly. But whatever happens, I'm gonna be there the MOMENT it releases.

Yeah erm that's kinda it for now hope you enjoyed reading the delusion of a mad person that squealed like a pathetic person during the trailer and the preview they did before the trailer. If anyone would like to talk by all means, talk to me in dms or message @cyhora on Discord ! ! !

[dilemmaontwolegs]

i know u have a gazillion requests but what if we spice up that Carlos fic? if you decide to do a pt 3. maybe Carlos is once again is frustrated because of the penalty after a good quali and has sex with Rebecca cuz he can't find the model. a lil angst

It’s no secret, I’m in an angsty kinda writing mood at the moment 😅 I also forgot who was meant to be the toxic one...and now it's both of them.

Lady in Red (3) || CS55

Pairing: Carlos Sainz Jr x fem!reader Warnings: 18+ only, NSFW, smut, cheating, manipulation WC: 1.5k

One || Two || Three || Four

You had been called away to work just before qualifying finished. You and half a dozen other models were asked to stand behind the top three drivers and wave feather fans for the cameras while an Elvis impersonator pumped out his signature dance moves. 

From your position you could see the frustration on Carlos’ face. He had qualified second fastest yet he was going to have to start from 12th on the grid. You weren’t the only person in the area upset by the 10 place penalty and the Ferrari supporters were making their opinion known as they chanted for Carlos.

“Alright, sweethearts, we need you over at the Bellagio for some promo shots and then you’re free for the night,” one of the headset-clad organisers said to the group you were with before checking her watch. “Or should I say morning.”

The drive back from the Bellagio to the paddock seemed to take hours with the road closures and checkpoints, but finally you made it back. Knowing Carlos would be waiting somewhere for you, you scanned each floor to find him before heading straight to the top.

“Fuck, mi amor, this is what I need,” Carlos moaned. 

You froze at the sordid scene you had walked in on. Neither one saw you in the doorway of the darkened room, their backs to you as Carlos bent Rebecca over the desk and pounded into her. He curled her hair around his fist and pulled back so to expose the pleasure painted on her face. 

You didn’t even notice you were crying until a droplet fell from your cheek to land on your breast, the feather girl outfit he enjoyed on full display. You suddenly hated how exposed you felt in the ridiculous costume. It was almost as ridiculous as you - for thinking a man like him could change. 

“Take it, cariña, take it,” he stammered as you recognised the pinch of his brow. He was close. He was close to finishing and you were more than done with seeing it. 

You were conscious of your footsteps as you retreated from the room and descended downstairs. You just needed to make it to your dressing room so you could get your stuff and go. 

“Hey,” Charlotte called out as she caught your arm and pulled you to a stop with a friendly smile. “Carlos was looking for you earlier. Did you find him?”

“Yeah, I did,” you whispered, quickly wiping the tears from your cheeks. “Don’t bother drafting up the breakup post.”

Her smile dimmed as confusion replaced it. “What breakup post?”

“Huh,” you laughed humorlessly as you shook your head at your stupidity. “The one Carlos clearly didn’t talk to you about. God, I am a fucking idiot.”

You left the track, heading straight back to your hotel room and before you even reached the room you saw Carlos’ name come up on your phone. You sent him straight to voicemail, again and again.

You barely slept as you thought about how humiliated you felt. You wanted to get him back but you weren’t innocent yourself. You knew your career would be over if you outed the relationship you had with Carlos, even if it made you feel better momentarily. No, you weren’t going to bloody your hands for him, there was already a stain on your soul for what you had knowingly done.

You were a survivor and you were smarter than your recent actions showed. You knew things about Carlos that he had been foolish enough to share in the unburdened state that came after sharing his bed. You were going to use it to your advantage and do what you did best, be the envy of every man.

You had turned your phone off when you arrived at the paddock for the race but it was going to be impossible to ignore Carlos when you were assigned to the Ferrari team. 

“Stacy, swap with me?” you begged as she waited for Charles to escort him to the grid. “Pleeeease.”

“Whatever, French boys aren’t my thing anyway,” she said with a grin before heading next door to Carlos’ side. 

“I’m not French,” Charles corrected as he stepped out of his room. “I’m Monégasque.”

“Today, you’re pole,” you said with a grin as you offered your elbow out to him. “Ready to go?”

You didn’t glance in Carlos’ direction as you accompanied Charles out onto the grid. You didn’t even have to fake enjoying the company as you found the Monégasque had a good sense of humour and made you laugh the entire way. 

From the slamming of Carlos’ car door you knew you were getting to him. Carlos’ fear was losing to his team mate and he was sick of always being compared to Charles Leclerc. 

Carefully angling the feather fan to hide your faces from the jealous driver, you leant in and wished Charles good luck for the race. To the fans, you were clearly talking, but to Carlos? He would always think the worst.

Charles was high with adrenaline when he arrived at the Bellagio after coming second place. It wasn’t the win he was obviously hoping for but you could see how happy he was with the result. 

“So, you like Charles now, huh?” Stacy whispered as she stood as you did, a fake smile on your faces as you lined the interview stage. 

You cast her a quick side glance and winked. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“I know why you wanted to swap, Carlos acts like a fucking baby. He practically trashed his garage after Charlotte spoke to him about something. God, I wish I could have heard what that conversation was about.”

“Hmm, me too,” you said with a sick sense of delight as the interviews wrapped up. “Oh, finally, almost time to party.”

“You must be happy, proving Carlos wrong,” you teased Charles as you escorted him back to the Rolls Royce he arrived in. 

His steps faltered and he slowed his walk as his other podium finishers drifted further ahead. “What do you mean?”

“Well, he’s been telling everyone how much better a driver he is compared to you,” you stated with a shrug. It was an exaggeration, you had overheard him complaining to his father in the garage. “But you showed him.”

“A better driver?” Charles scoffed. “He is full of shit.”

He seemed to be in deep contemplation as he walked silently, until he reached the car and turned to you. “You should come to the after party.”

Carlos had already added you to the invite list but you smiled and batted your lashes as Charles. “Are you asking me?”

He blushed and laughed at himself as he nodded. “Would you like to come to the after party with me?”

“You don’t have a girlfriend do you?”

“No,” he laughed warmly. “I wouldn’t be asking to take you if I did.”

“Then I would love to go with you.” You gave him your room number that was conveniently in the same hotel as him, since both Ferrari drivers stayed in the same one. 

You already had the perfect dress waiting in your room and as you stood in front of the mirror you had to admit you looked stunning. The red dress was tailored to your body and the plunging neckline was risque and exactly what you envisioned it to be. You couldn’t wait to see Carlos’ face when you walked into the party on his teammate's arm.

“Hey,” you greeted as you opened the door after the knock, but it wasn’t who you expected to see on the other side. “Carlos, what are you doing here?”

His jaw fell slack, lips parting, as his eyes trailed down your body. “Mios dios, hermosa.”

You held your hand out, planting it on his chest as he stepped forward to kiss you. “Woah there, buddy, not happening.”

“Why not? Why have you been ignoring me?” he asked with genuine confusion.

“I saw you fucking Rebecca last night after Qualifying.”

He looked a little sheepish as he scratched the back of his heated neck. “I couldn’t find you.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better when you call her ‘mi amor’ too?”

“I didn’t mean it, I-I was thinking about you,” his eyes widened as his voice went up a pitch. “I swear.”

You nodded sympathetically as you rubbed his arm. “Of course, like you were thinking about me when you didn’t have that chat with Charlotte. Yeah, I know you didn't, so just go back to your girlfriend.”

“But I want you,” he pouted as he bowed his head and looked up with big brown puppy dog eyes.

“But I don’t want you. Not anymore.” You gave him a push and he ceded the space in your doorway as the  elevator across the hall opened and Charles stepped out looking good in a pair of jeans and a fitted shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbow. “Hey handsome,” you greeted him with a smile as you grabbed a black clutch with your phone and money. “Perfect timing.”

“You are breathtaking,” he said after a few blinks to recover from the sight of you. He smiled as he brushed past Carlos to kiss your cheek, ignoring the Spaniard completely. “Ready to go, chérie?”

You took his hand and sent a dark smile in Carlos’ direction as you passed by. “See you around, red man.”

Click here for part four.

[waterpoofs]

I accidentally left the A1111 checkpoint on Protogen 2.2 when upscaling a folder of images intended for the trial of Homofidelis, so I've inadvertently ended up with some side-by-side comparisons of the two models. And why waste them. Protogen on the left, Homofidelis on the right, both img2img upscaling old 512x512 gens from Protogen at 0.7 denoising.

I think I'll like the Homofidelis look...

[nikimeanie]

CHECKPOINT —

🎆

WHATS UR CELEB /MODEL TH1nSPO??

[ai-musclebound]

The cold had numbed his skin, but it couldn't touch the fire burning beneath it. He stood there, almost naked except for tight shorts, snowflakes settling on his shoulders like dust on a monument. Even in the biting wind, his back rippled with slabs of muscle so defined, they looked carved from living stone. And yet this was no snapshot of pride – it was a checkpoint. A progress report. A journal entry in the ongoing chronicle of his obsession with mass. He could barely move his arms outward anymore – his lats forced them into a semi-flexed position he no longer saw as a limitation, but as a trophy. Mobility had become a cost he paid with a grin. Every inch of added bulk that hindered movement felt like a vow fulfilled – a surrender to a goal that had long surpassed anything human. He didn’t want to be a fighter, an athlete, or a model – he wanted to be a monument. A living embodiment of obsession. He could still walk. For now. But the day he could no longer move because of his own mass – frozen in flesh, yet victorious – was coming. And he welcomed it. Craved it. What do you see in that back? A body? Or a choice that’s long since become irreversible?

[fbfh]

Unfortunately you've infected me with the brain worm of Tony Stark with a teeny tiny baby. Please give me more, Supreme Leader 🙏🙏

I AM MORE THAN HAPPY TO. first of all Tony is the CE-MOTHERFUCKING-O of baby wearing. he for shit sure really tried to reinvent the wheel there for a while, he kept making up new schematics and prototypes that were all equally (incredibly) safe, and pretty much exclusively based whether or not they’re “good” on how you reacted. If you got fussy or squirmy or started crying, that thing went STRAIGHT into the reject pile. But if you just kind of chilled - or even better, slept - that’s how he decided who the finalists were.

Eventually he landed on a pretty straight forward - granted, very ergonomic, soft, breathable, somehow antibacterial, uv protective, incredibly soft, temperature regulated - model he whipped up that’s part baby wrap part harness/chest carrier. And after about 45 minutes of use, he realized he… probably could have bought a nearly identical one online. But he’s still glad he did it, because even though the improvements over the ones on the market are very subtle, they’re incredibly important to him. Because that’s one more little way that he’s taking care of you. 

He also will FULLY rig up Jarvis to orchestrate Dum-e and Butterfingers to help him out with those late night feedings. Jarvis monitors your sleep cycles, breathing, oxygen levels, movement, all that stuff. And Jarvis can tell you’re going to wake up before you do. So the moment Tony hears you start fussing (also let’s be real, most nights he probably falls asleep in his workshop with you in a little bassinet) he’s up. No question, no hesitation. And the moment he’s up, Dum-e and Butterfingers are already gliding over with a warm, perfectly prepared bottle and a clean fresh diaper. I can just hear him talking to Pepper like, “yeah, I’m really planning on streamlining this whole newborn phase.” Pepper has… low expectations on that working, if she’s being honest. But she’s actually pleasantly surprised at how well Tony is adapting to being your dad. 

Also you know how a lot of scientific articles have said that the reason breastfeeding is “better” formula is because when a baby breastfeeds, their saliva goes into the mother’s nipple so her body can make milk with whatever nutrients the baby needs? Yeah Tony hacked that too. He has what he jokingly has dubbed the Baby Breathalyzer. He also designed it with a pacifier nib at the top so it’s not just easy for him to use, it’s comfortable and soothing for you. Again, this man thinks of EVERYTHING. So once he gets a reading, the data is sent over to another thing he made that will basically custom make add ons to your formula powder. So any nutrients or vitamins or antibodies or anything else you could possibly need, he will ensure you have. It’s also able to tell him ahead of time when you might be starting to get sick or get a sniffle so he can act accordingly. It doesn’t make him less worried about you, but preparing ahead of time makes it a little easier on him, and by proxy, on you. 

Also, he’s probably still CEO at this point, so you’d better BELIEVE that all Stark Industries meetings not only begin with a scan to make sure no one is sick, no one has any tobacco, or second hand smoke, or alcohol, or anything else that could be harmful to you on them, a full head to toe decontamination mist with evaporating body safe antibiotic spray in a sterilization checkpoint, and a lot of hand sanitizer. But he also has a new feature in all of his meetings. Lights have to be kept reasonably dim, and there’s a hovering holographic decibel counter in the middle of the table. One of the other things he asked Jarvis to track was when you started crying and what was going on around you, that way he could figure out if there was anything in your environment that upset you. In doing so, he figured out you hate the texture of microfiber, you seem pretty terrified of bananas in pajamas, and exactly how loud people can talk before it’s too loud for you little ears. So in every meeting, Tony ensures that all the other executives and managers and department heads and whoever else he’s meeting with keep things comfortable for you while you babble and teeth on pens and snooze on his chest. 

Also when you get big enough to start walking????? He is so proud and a little heartbroken because he already misses having you in his arms all the time. But he knows that no matter how big his precious little baby gets, you will never be too big for him to carry you. 

AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON HOW HILARIOUS THIS MAN IS. He will literally be like "ooh, I don't know about that. Let me confer with my executive consultant." he turns to you and whispers while you baby babble up at him, nodding.

"... well, you heard the kid. That's gonna be a no go."

[sol-consort]

pt.1 - pt.2 - pt.3

You can't shake the feeling that something feels off today.

Shepard never really enjoyed walking through the Citadel much of late. The novelty of the Centre-of-Civilisation Hub was as short-lived as the final facedown with Sovereign three years ago.

You placed your drink down, double clicking on the game icon.

How quickly they've become jaded to the sight of the cosmos laid bare in front of their eyes, a mere reinforced window away from the vacuum of space. Its taste still fresh at the back of their throat, the feelings of their own lungs caving in on themselves as their ribcage collapsed.

Scrolling through your phone as the usual startup video played. Checking your dms. Pretending to watch the tiktok clips your friends sent you.

Tightened security, tens of checkpoints, salarians smoking, hanar eating sushi, asari walking hand in hand with krogans, turians dancing with humans in nightclubs. It seemed that humanity found its place within the galaxy during the years Shepard's soul was stuck in limbo. Everything was so different, and yet... undeniably, the same.

The ice cubes clinked against the glass cup, fizzy foam forming atop your soda as they melted, diluting the sugary drink.

It was flattering the first few times an alien gawked at them, attempted to sneakly snap pic of them, ask for a photograph, in that order.

After all, Shepard was a nobody in the eye of the galactic masses the last time they stepped a foot on the Citadel, even if they've had a reputation amongst humanity—but as the remours of their supposed "coming back to life" spread further and further like wild fire, their newly founded fame was becoming nothing short of debilitating.

And no one in their crew seemed to relate.

"See it's because I knew better than to show my face, let the Archangel name speak for itself" The turian attempted to keep a facade of nonchalance, positioning himself so the light reflects just right off of the totally cool badass scar on his face.

"That and the fact no one could get close enough to your camping spot to see your face without being sniped from across the map." Crossing off another item from the list on his Omni-tool, Joker was down to only two items remaining.

You're still at the menu screen.

Shepard can sense the familiar signs of your presence hovering nearby, and yet, their body felt as hallow and cold as ever. Where were you? Why aren't you with them?

"How come I don't get any of that celebrity treatment? I was there too, people! Or do they think Shepard was steering the Normandy with one hand while fisting Saren with the other." That got a snicker out of the turian next to him.

Were you mad at them? Did they do something wrong? Their eyes scanned the various merchandise on the shelves, hoping for something to coax you out of hiding.

"—And with the discount from the recorded endorsement message, the total comes to 1400 credits. Will that be all for today?" The asari cashier chirped up, practised smile and overly friendly tone.

"Yeah, and uh... how much for the Destiny Ascension model?" Akin to an offering left at the altar of a displeased god, Shepard hoped this might appease you.

Or, at the very least, summon your presence to them. This never happened before. They know you're out there. They can feel you at the tip of their fingers, at the ends of their hair, hues shifting in the corner of their visions like phantoms.

"That'll be 500 extra credits, 416 with the discount."

Just their luck.

"Sheesh," Joker inhaled sharply, "Commander, unless you're planning to expand your resume and become an idol part-timer, then our budget doesn't allow for that."

"Who knows, maybe Shepard's devoted fanbase will throw money at us if we stand very still in the centre of the Presidium" Garrus purred back a little to eagerly for someone who was just claiming how not-bitter he is for having his secret alter ego remain secret.

Again. No sign of your presence, your actual presence. Only the vague anticipation of something coming, of the skies preparing to part like curtians for you to descend.

"Forget it," bringing up their omni-tool, Shepard paid for the original items, "let's just get what we came here for and hurry back aboard."

"Aye Aye Captain."

"Garrus, you're on bag duty. Joker—"

You loaded the savefile.

Their breath hitched, and a familiar feeling weighed down on them like a comforting blanket, a spring breeze filling their lungs.

"...I'll head to the Normandy. You two handle this on your own."

Finally, oh how they've missed you.

As the loading screen faded out of view, the world rendered from around you. Shepard was at the very same spot where you last left them, standing in front of the galactic map. The familiar sound of Kelly reminding you of the new emails on your terminal.

Were where you again? Oh, yeah, Mordin loyalty mission.

Strangely enough, Garrus was absent from the crewmates selection screen. You grimced, the bugs are hard a work it seems. Just your luck to get a cursed savefile.

Fine. Sure. Whatever. You won't let that ruin your mood. Maybe it was a good thing. Especially with how immensely disappointed you were after watching Garrus romance scenes on YouTube. Really? A fade to black? Good thing it bugged out, otherwise it'd have been a waste of your time and effort.

Your aim must be sharper than usual today... did Shepard always have these many hitpoints? Wow, that speed, this can't be vanilla. Ugh, did the save editor mess with your savefile?

No way, you swear you reloaded a backed up one. This should be a clean slate.

Not that you're complaining, after all the infuriating bugs and misclicks, being at the other end of the stick feels kinda good for once. You're not totally op, but noticeably stronger than your last session.

It was so fun, in fact, that you kept gunning one mission after another. Even the Garrus bug seemed to fix itself after the Mordin loyalty mission.

You were oblivious to the ticking of the clock, and your now lukewarm flat soda.

And Shepard? Oh Shepard.

They were on cloud nine. It might have been an extra couple hours of playtime for you, but with the amount of progress you've made, a whole week had passed from their point of view.

A whole week with you by their side.

Ah. They see the error of their ways. They pushed back, so you've kept your distance. They made you feel unwanted with their constant display of independence, didn't they?

Their intentions were pure. They simply wanted to prove the existence of their own volition. But apparently, it only served to hurt you instead.

Did you come back because of their gesture of attempting to buy the ship model? Were you watching them from the oblivion?

How they wish to talk to you, have one small conversation, if you are truly a person capable of speech. They're not too keen on the idea of you being a simple benevolent spirit, a mere force of the universe not that different from gravity or the change of seasons.

They're growing closer to their crew, thanks to you, that they can clearly see. Who would've known Mordin kept such a secret? Or the extent of how much Grunt repressed his nature. You seem to care for all of those people, based on the words you manifest for Shepard to say.

Well, almost all of them.

You had a defiant side that broke through whenever it was a one on one meeting between Shepard and The Illusive man himself.

You weren't a fan of Cerberus, they gathered.

Shepard themselves felt indifferent towards the whole operation. They could wrap their head to why a group like this is a necessary evil for humanity, as much as they could also picture why someone would completely resent them—if their previous crewmate's tantrum on Horizon was anything to go by.

Maybe, if you had asked them about Cerberus three years ago, they would've given a completely different answer.

But as it stands today, it's the people closest to them who turned their back on Shepard, whilst the scum of the earth fished their charred corpse out of orbit, nursed and nurtured them, welcomed them with open arms.

How confusing it was to wake up to a world full of anger at them for coming back to life. For supposedly tarnishing the image of a noble martyr.

To prefer them to remain a hero 6 feet in the ground than to see them alive walking on the surface—a flawed person, yes, but alive all the same.

Not like they even had a choice or say in the matter. Their birth, death, and reincarnation, they didn't have a say in any of them.

Which might just be the fate awaiting their future demise, when the bell tolls for them a second time, to die twice in one lifetime, and it won't even be out of their own choosing, but another matter-of-fact forced upon them, another burden to carry, another sacrifice in the name of the greater good.

Unlike you.

You who never forced them into anything.

Always phrased things as a suggestion.

Always asked them to move forward, never pulled them like a dog on a leash to fight their battles.

Became their strength from within, their voice of reason at times of strife.

You who never forced them into anything.

Kind, merciful, thought, pure hearted you.

You chose them to bless with your presence, your guidance, and your selfless labour.

Truly a guardian angel.

You who never forced them into anything.

You saw them as they are, understood them better than anyone else. Not as some tool to use for your own bidding like the council views them as, neither as a mascot to push more propaganda like the alliance have been shaping them up to be.

But as Shepard.

You who never forced them into anything.

With the sunrays peaking through the curtians, the sound of birds squeaking outside, and the sticky dryness of your eyes, you knew you've been staring at a screen too long for what's humanly recommended and socially acceptable.

It took you so many hours, a couple of open browser tabs with guides, but you've finally found all collectable ships and fish within the game.

All loyalty missions were taken care of, all dlc stories done.

Tomorrow, first thing after coming back from work, you're going to immediately book it to the Omega Relay.

Fuck the collectors, fuck the illusive man, and fuck this haunted savefile.

One last mission then it's goodbye ME2 and hello ME3!

-

"You really left me stranded with Garrus on the Citadel?? I mean, what were you thinking, Commander? What, so just because EDI can fly the ship, I'm suddenly disposable?"

"It was an urgent matter, you wouldn't understand. I had something important—"

"IMPORTANT?!" used to witnessing these arguments between these two by now, none of the Cerberus crew on the bridge were exactly phased by Joker's loud burst. "What could possibly be so important that you couldn't wait five minutes for the pilot of the damn ship."

"...."

"Yeah. Thought so. Listen, I know things been tough on you, coming back from the dead and all. But you're seriously starting to freak me out here, commander. This past month something about you just been... off"

"If I tell you, you'll think I'm a nutjob."

"Well, for one: I already think that. And two—" Joker covered the glowing orb of which EDI speaks from, to have an illusion of privacy as he lowered his voice. "Is this about what happened on Horizon? never took you for the type to get hung up over an ex. I could try to reach out and maybe arrange a reconcile dinner—"

"No. Absolutely not. I'll throw you out the airlock."

"Then spill already, Shepard. You're really giving thriller authors a run for their money."

"Fine. Tomorrow, left wing of the Presidium, 5 sharp."

"Nuh uh, you talk right here right now. How can I be sure you won't sneak off with my baby again and leave poor me to fend for himself on alien streets."

"Name your price."

"Your spectre access card, let me borrow it for a day"

"Joker—No. that's a federal crime."

"Umm no it's not? The Citadel isn't part of the federation. It's a galactic crime."

"That worse, you know that's worse right?"

"Then at least take me on a tour inside, please, been dying to know what goes on behind that freaky spectre access only door. Is it like a bdsm club with asari in full body leather carrying your guns around and—"

"No asari, just a shooting range, a terminal, and some screens. I think... a hanar urinal too. Very anticlimactic stuff, still wanna see it?

"duh?"

"you know what sure okay."

[windvexer]

Hi! This is the wisp spirit guide anon. I wanted to get back to you on an update. I followed your advice and placed a ward around my home being specific that no spirits or entities that would wish me harm could enter my home and then called my spirit guides. When I asked if each of them were there by name, I got yeses for the first two and a no for Wisp. Then I asked the first spirit guide about Wisp and he said he did know of them and that they did wish me harm. And that no, they were not present. I asked my second spirit guide, and she said she did not know Wisp and did not know if they wished me harm or not. And then once again, I asked if Wisp was present and I got another No. So I guess I’m down to two spirit guides?

Prior ask

I believe something like what follows is a useful thought exercise to map out how spirits can appear when they should not. When I follow this model I have better control over which spirits appear when I call out for them.

Imagine that spirits are far away, and must visit us on roads. Like a freeway, these roads may have multiple onramps and offramps - points of entry and exit, where spirits (or your spirit body!) can enter the road and travel to another offramp.

When you call out for spirits who might be far away, you might be activating an old spirit freeway, or creating your own through your own power.

Whatever kind of road you get, we should expect that it has an onramp right next to the kind of spirits you're calling, and an offramp right where you are in your house :)

However, these are not necessarily the only 'access' points. There could be lots of entry and exit points on this road. And once the road has been 'activated' due to your call, it's possible that not only do the spirits you want to call take an onramp to visit you, but random and unrelated spirits also see onramps and decide to visit.

Why not? Road trips are fun!

But how do you make sure random spirits don't visit you every time you call? Here are my solutions, I use more at once if I think I'm about to do something risky:

Always call spirits within a protected space. The protection should be designed specifically to keep out spirits you did not explicitly invite. (Of course your exact rules are up to personal preference) (Imagine your ward is like a security checkpoint on the freeway)

Casting circles is a form of temporary protective ward. As you cast the circle, dictate that it protects uninvited spirits from arriving.

If you also lay a compass or call the quarters, ask the elemental guardians, archangels, or whomever, to stand guard at that road and only allow through spirits whom you have called.

Enchant a stone and work with it as a helper guardian. Tell it to keep out spirits who are uninvited (or whatever your conditions are). When you call for spirits, dictate that if they choose to arrive, they may only arrive into the stone. And when choose to leave, they may only go back from where they came.

As you work with your own helper spirits and build up relationships, ask them to stand watch and A) prepare roads that only lead to the kind of spirits you want to call, but also B) prevent unwanted spirits from arriving.

Also, try wording your spirit calls very specifically so it also excludes uninvited spirits. Now we have to change our analogy a little bit. Imagine that there isn't a big wide freeway and onramps.

Instead, imagine that when you call spirits you are creating a special padlock. That padlock can only be open by keys that fit. A single padlock can be opened by different keys, as long as they press the right pins.

When you call for an extremely specific spirit - "Obelon the Fox-Man whom I met at Electric Daisy Carnival 2024" - then it's reasonable to assume that padlock can only be opened by a spirit who can fit that very specific description.

But you can also make a lock that a category of spirits could open. "I call on the healing spirits of the Buena Verde Pond who wish to assist me in an act of healing." A spirit has to hit a few pins to unlock this call - a spirit from that location, who has healing abilities, and who wants to help. Yet MANY spirits could still appear, each one different from the last.

However, it's easy to make very general calls that accidentally create a lock almost any spirit could pass through. "I call on my spirit guides." (And you've never met them before and this isn't referring to anyone specific you know yet). Well a bunch of spirits could say, hey - I'm capable of guiding. And I'm a spirit. I mean I can give advice if they ask me for some. I'll go check it out!

They are able to appear when you make a general call because they may not technically be excluded. On the other hand, if you were working in an unwarded space, this technicality doesn't matter - any spirit can just show up, which they're especially likely to do when they see something interesting is already happening.

My hypothesis would be that you are not down to 2 spirit guides, but rather that during your initial call another spirit showed up just to see what was up. When you warded, they may have decided they didn't want to bother with it, or they may have become concerned you could lash out if you became bothered. In either case it seems that perhaps they did not regard themselves as being "enough" of a guide to you that it was worth sticking around when you began to take basic precautions.

Just because a ward against harmful spirits keeps some spirits away, that doesn't mean they were necessarily planning harm. Wards are not invisible except to those whom they effect. A spirit who can pass through a ward may re-evaluate the situation and say, never mind.

As you've seen yourself, just because a random spirit ends up dropping by doesn't mean it's necessarily dangerous or aggressive - I don't think you mentioned that Wisp tried to manipulate you, demand things from you, or hurt/scare you. Any spirit worker might tell you that once spirits realize you can interact with them, they just show up all the time.

Basic protections are the best, everyone should get into them 👍

[callie-the-creator]

bertholdt dating a deaf reader would include...

sfw. warnings: mentions of bullying.

author’s note: this was posted on my wattpad, so there is no need to worry if you see it there. other than that, there is nothing else to add!

• in all honesty, how it was revealed that you were deaf was a little embarrassing. it happened during the first day of the cadet corps when everyone was being debriefed and publicly humiliated in front of each other because commander shadis wanted to ensure every abled person was morphed into a model soldier. it didn't take long for it to be your turn.

— "sorry, sir! i can't hear you!" shadis, at first, thought you were being a smartass and before he could yell at you some more, you added, "i'm deaf!"

— "then why the hell are you here?!"

• from there, you explained that you wanted to not so much fight for humanity by physically driving the titans back but stay back and help formulate strategies and plans.

• fortunately, shadis was merciful enough to let you stay, though it took some convincing. that and once his superiors heard about your case, they were torn but eventually you were allowed to train with the others. 

• alas, you were completely oblivious to some of the bullying happening behind your back...

• you struggle with communication and social skills, such as simply not understanding a joke that everyone else is laughing at. when that is happening, you usually write down on a piece of paper to ask just what is so funny, but they usually brush you off by either ignoring you, saying "oh, it's nothing", or something of that nature.

• the first few months were hell on earth for you. if anything, you preferred the physical training over anything because that meant you wouldn't have to worry about trying to communicate with any of the other cadets since the same can't be said about sparring or the wasteland excursion training (an exercise where the cadets are split into two groups and make a round trip through the wasteland. they leave the training base at the same time on separate routes, retrieve an object at the checkpoint, and return to base. they exercise aims to test their vigilance in tedious, low-risk situations).

• in terms of bullying, you experienced quite a variety of things. being ostracized, taken advantage of when it came to sparring or other team activities since everyone knew you were at a disadvantage, or people trying to talk to you but you didn't know what they were talking about.

— "can she seriously not hear a thing?"

— "what a weirdo."

— "hey, y/n, can you even speak?"

• bertholdt didn't like how differently everyone was treating you just because you have a disability, it reminded him all too much of his father and the prejudice eldians face from marleyans. so, when he's finally had enough, he steps forward and tells everyone to cut it out. from there, he becomes friends with you and follows you everywhere to help you in any way he can.

— of course, this didn't blow well over with annie or reiner because bertholdt is sympathetic toward the enemy but it's not like they could stop him.

• it's from there where bertholdt did things like open the door for you, carry your things, intentionally pick you to be his partner in sparring so no one else would be rude toward you, try his best to translate things if someone was trying to talk to you (by writing down on a piece of paper).

• obviously, it didn't take long for you to develop feelings for him and the same can be said for bertholdt! ☺️

— he thought you were so sweet and precious...you needed to be protected and although he wasn't the best option for this, he still wanted to do his best to make you feel safe.

• so...within a few weeks, you two started going out! bertholdt couldn't care less about the stares he got— he was used to them— but if you ever pointed it out, he would make up excuses to make it seem like the judgmental glares were aimed toward him and not you. it wasn't like he wasn't used to it already and the last thing he wanted was to see you unhappy.

• a few years went by and close to graduation, shadis gathered everyone to tell them that the government had been working on a way to communicate with the hearing-impaired. sign language. shadis said it would be easier to talk to you that way. many people were against learning it because they thought of it as a waste of their time, saying that they had enough issues learning the specifics of titan killing.

— all in all, the only people that were willing to learn— aside from you— were christa, mikasa, bertholdt, armin, and connie & sasha (even though they can be a bunch of numbskulls at times).

• bertholdt spent many nights trying to perfect his sign language. it sort of pissed off some of the other guys in the cabin because of just how late he would stay up! he can't remember how many times he's accidentally pulled an all-nighter and only knew when he heard the bell for muster.

• when he signed to you the first time during supper, he was so nervous, afraid that he might offend you if he messed up any of the signs but was relieved and proud of himself when you understood him and offered to teach him some more which he gleefully agreed to.

• bertholdt likes that you two have this language that not everyone in the cadet corps can understand, that way he can be cute with you without the other boys knowing and making fun of him for it

[lixel-5]

stanley parable and portal crossover where stanley and chell are escaping aperture (the narrator is just a voice that follows stanley, and constantly arguing with wheatley btw)

stanley falls and chell and wheatley are like. shit.

chell shrugs and wheatly says something like “well, what can we do. we still have YOU! now let’s continue!”

two minutes later they hear the narrator’s voice approaching again.

“i still can’t believe you, stanley. it was a simple jump and you FAILED. that lady seems much more competent than you.”

once they’re close enough to see stanley, they realize he’s completely unharmed and still has his portal gun and long fall boots.

“what? how are you back?! you fell! i watched you die!”

“it was a simple fix, i’m sure you wouldn’t understand even the basics of it. i simply reset stanley’s model a few checkpoints back and we made our way back here. it’s simple video game mechanics!”

stanley nods and makes eye contact with chell. stanley looks bored out of his mind and chell just looks neutral.

“w-what? video game? what the hell are you talking about.”

“oh, stanley, do you remember when i had to explain this to you? well i have to do it again. this time with two people. how miserable.”

[eretzyisrael]

Good News From Israel

In the 9th Feb 25 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

Released hostages are role-models for Israeli resilience.

Israeli medicines can navigate the body.

More Arabs enjoy careers in Israel’s medical professions.

Educating the next generation of hi-tech Israelis.

$1 billion profit in 2024 for Israeli cybersecurity Checkpoint.

Israeli jazz band leader won a Grammy award.

Read details of a 1,900-year-old Jewish court case in the Land of Israel.

Read More: Good News From Israel

The song that has gone viral recently in Israel is "Od Yoter Tov", meaning "Even more good" by Yair Elitzur.  It sums up what this newsletter has been publicizing about Israeli achievements over the last fifteen years.  Recent news is no exception. The medical articles include an Israeli breakthrough that allows therapies to do more good only to the parts of the body that need treatment. Israeli Arabs are working in many more good healthcare jobs than they were employed in fifteen years ago. Israeli startups have been donating their valuable shares to more good causes. More political and business leaders have visited Israel to see how good the future of the Middle East could be.  Israeli schoolchildren will soon acquire more good experience of robotics and AI at an earlier age. And more perishable food will remain in good condition thanks to the rollout of innovative Israeli packaging. Meanwhile, there were more good reasons for the BDS thugs to pack-up as the US announced plans to integrate Israeli AI, and the Irish bought helicopters controlled by Israeli technology. There were more good results for two Israeli startups in the Business Intelligence Group's Innovation awards, plus a top-listed Israeli wine, and an Israeli winner of a Grammy award. Finally, despite some awful scenes, there are more good news stories related to post Oct 7 2023 in this issue than ever before. The photo (TY Sharon) is a message to encourage readers to pass on more good news newsletters to those who have yet to see Israel in its TRUE light.